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SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
OF WILLIAM Mckinley
SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY
FROM MARCH 1, 1897
TO MAY 30, 1900
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NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY & McCLURE CO.
1900
Copyright, 1900, by
DOUBLEDAY & McClUEE CO.
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The DeVinne Press.
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
THE enthusiasm with which President Mc-
Kinley's speeches and addresses have been
received in every part of the Union has suggested
their permanent publication; and into this vol-
ume have been gathered all those that he de-
livered from the time he left his home in Canton,
Ohio, to enter upon the duties of the Presidency,
to his speech at Antietam battle-field, Maryland,
May 30, 1900. They are published as they were
spoken, most of them from stenographic reports.
They are put in this volume in chronological order,
because an arrangement by topics would break the
sequence more violently than an arrangement by
time.
Included in the collection are the President's
Inaugural Address and all the speeches delivered
by him on his several visits to New York, to New
England, to the Middle and Western States, and to
the Southern States. In them he discusses a wide
range of subjects— a wider range than it has fallen
to any other President to discuss since Lincoln :
some are memorial addresses ; in others he takes
vi PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
up commercial and financial topics of the widest
importance ; and in others the war with Spain and
the new and momentous problems that have grown
out of it. The contents of this volume include,
in fact, what President McKinley has spoken in
every section of the country on all the impor-
tant subjects that have come forward during his
administration. The literary quality of these
speeches, as well as their intrinsic merit, warrant
their, preservation in the convenient form of a
volume that may have a wide circulation.
The portrait that appears as the frontispiece is
a reproduction of a steel engraving that was made
in 1898 at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
"Washington, and is regarded as one of the best
likenesses of President McKinley that have ever
been made.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Speech on Departure from Canton, Ohio, March 1, 1897 1
Inaugural Address 2
Address at Dedication of Grant Monument, New York,
April 27, 1897 16
At Unveiling of Washington Statue, Philadelphia, May
15, 1897 19
Remarks to American Medical Association, Philadelphia,
Jime 2, 1897 22
At School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia, June 2, 1897 23
Addi'ess at National Opening of Philadelphia Museums,
June 2, 1897 23
Speech at Banquet of Philadelphia Museums and Manu-
facturers' Club, June 2, 1897 27
Address at Tennessee Centennial Exposition, Nashville,
June 11, 1897 30
Speech to Vennont Fish and Game League, Isle La
Motte, Vermont, August 6, 1897 35
Remarks at Proctor, Vermont, August 12, 1897 . . 36
Speech at Syracuse, New York, August 24, 1897 . . 36
Remarks from Balcony of Hotel, Buffalo, New York,
August 24, 1897 37
Speech at Banquet of Ellicott Club, Buffalo, August 24,
1897 38
At G. A. R. Camp-Fire, Asbury Church, Buffalo, Au-
gust 24, 1897 40
vii
viii CONTENTS.
PAGE
Speech at G. A. R. Camp-Fire, Delaware Avenue M. E.
Churcli, Buffalo, August 24, 1897 . . . .41
At Reunion of Twenty-third Ohio Regiment, Fremont,
Ohio, September 2, 1897 42
At State Fair, Columbus, Ohio, September 3, 1897 . 44
At Akron, Ohio, September 4, 1897 . . . .46
Remarks at Canton, Ohio, September 4, 1897 . . .46
To Lincoln Club, Somerset, Pennsylvania, September
9,1897 47
At Reception of R. P. Cummins Post, G. A. R., Somer-
set, Pennsylvania, September 10, 1897 . . .48
Speech at Hoosac Valley Agricultural Society Fair, North
Adams, Massachusetts, September 22, 1897 . . .48
Remarks at Pittsfleld, Massachusetts, September 24, 1897 49
Speech at Adams, Massachusetts, October 1, 1897 . . 50
Remarks in Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati, October
29, 1897 51
Speech at Dinner of Commercial Club, Cincinnati, Octo-
ber 30, 1897 52
To Commercial Travelers' Association and Employees
of Dueber Heights, Canton, Ohio, November 1, 1897 55
Address at Carnegie Library, Pittsburg, November 3,
1897 56
Speech at Banquet of National Association of Manufac-
turers of the United States, New York, January 27, 1898 60
Address to Officers and Students of University of Penn-
sylvania, Philadelphia, February 22, 1898 . . .07
Address of the Powers in Regard to Existing Differences
with Spain, Executive Mansion, Washington, April 6,
1898 78
Reply of the President 79
Speech at Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, New York,
September 3, 1898, with Introductory Remarks by
Major-General Wheeler 80,81
CONTENTS.
LX
Remarks to Commission Appointed to Investigate Ad-
ministration of War Department, September 26, 1898
At De Kalb, Illinois, October 11, 1898
Speech at Clinton, Iowa, October 11, 1898
Remarks at Dewitt, Iowa, October 11, 1898
Speech at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, October 11, 1898
At BeUe Plaine, Iowa, October 11, 1898
At Tama, Iowa, October 11, 1898 .
At Marshalltown, Iowa, October 11, 1898 .
At Ames, Iowa, October 11, 1898 .
At Boone, Iowa, October 11, 1898
At Carroll, Iowa, October 11, 1898
At Denison, Iowa, October 11, 1898
Remarks at Logan, Iowa, October 11, 1898
Speech at Missouri VaUey, Iowa, October 11, 1898
Address at Trans-Mississippi and International Exposi-
tion, Omaha, October 12, 1898
Remarks on Leaving Omaha, October 13, 1898 .
Speech at Council Bluffs, Iowa, October 13, 1898
At Glenwood, Iowa, October 13, 1898 .
At Malvern, Iowa, October 13, 1898
Remarks at Hastings, Iowa, October 13, 1898 .
Speech at Red Oak, Iowa, October 13, 1898
At Coming, Iowa, October 13, 1898
At Creston, Iowa, October 13, 1898
Remarks at Osceola, Iowa, October 13, 1898
Speech at Chariton, Iowa, October 13, 1898
At Ottumwa, Iowa, October 13, 1898 .
At Monmouth, Illinois, October 13, 1898
At Galesburg, Illinois, October 13, 1898
At Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis, October 14, 1898
In Cohseum, St. Louis, October 14, 1898
PAGE
83
84
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86
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90
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92
94
96
97
99
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100
106
106
107
108
109
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
119
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Speech at Terre Haute, Indiana, October 15, 1898 . . 122
At Paris, Illinois, October 15, 1898 . . . .123
At Areola, Illinois, October 15, 1898 . . . .124
At Decatur, lUiuois, October 15, 1898 . . . .125
At Springfield, lUinois, October 15, 1898 . . .126
At CHnton, lUinois, October 15, 1898 . . . .128
At GUman, lUinois, October 15, 1898 . . . . 129
At Kankakee, lUinois, October 15, 1898 . . .130
At the Auditorium, Chicago, October 18, 1898 . . 131
Remarks in Front of Union League Club, Chicago, Octo-
ber 19, 1898 132
Speech at Banquet, Auditorium, Chicago, October 19, 1898 133
At First Regiment Armory, Chicago, before AUied Or-
ganizations of Railroad Employees, October 20, 1898 136
Remarks to Committee on International Arbitration,
Chicago, October 20, 1898 138
Speech at Logansport, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . 139
At Kokomo, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . . 140
At Tipton, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . . .141
At Atlanta, Indiana, October 21, 1898 .... 142
At Noblesville, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . .143
At» Indianapolis, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . . 144
At RushvUle, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . .146
At ConnersvUle, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . . . 147
Remarks at College Corner, Indiana, October 21, 1898 . 148
Speech at Oxford, Ohio, October 21, 1898 . . .148
At Hamilton, Ohio, October 21, 1898 . . . .149
Remarks at Wilmington, Ohio, October 21, 1898 . . 150
At Washington Court-House, Ohio, October 21, 1898 150
Speech at Columbus, Ohio, October 21, 1898 . . 151
Remarks at Newark, Ohio, October 21, 1898 . . 154
At Banquet, Union League, PhUadelphia, October 26,
1898 .154
CONTENTS. xi
PAGE
Speech at Banquet of Clover Club, Philadelphia, October
27, 1898 155
Remarks to First District of Columbia Regiment, at Con-
vention Hall, Washington, November 17, 1898 . . 157
Speech before Legislature in Joint Assembly, State Capi-
tol, Atlanta, Georgia, December 14, 1898 . . . 158
At Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia, December 15, 1898 159
At Banquet, Atlanta, Georgia, December 15, 1898 . 164
At Tuskegee, Alabama, December 16, 1898 . . . 166
To General Assembly and Citizens in State Capitol,
Montgomery, Alabama, December 16, 1898 . . 170
At Banquet of Board of Trade and Associated Citizens,
De Soto Hotel, Savannah, Georgia, December 17, 1898 172
At Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical College,
Savannah, Georgia, December 18, 1898 . . . 176
At Macon, Georgia, December 19, 1898 . . . 178
Remarks at MiUedgeviUe, Georgia, December 19, 1898 . 180
Speech at Augusta, Georgia, December 19, 1898 . . 181
At Columbia, South Carolina, December 19, 1898 . 183
Remarks at New Loudon, Connecticut, February 16, 1899 184
Speech at Home Market Club Dinner, Boston, February
16,1899 185
At G. A. R. Encampment, Boston, February 17, 1899 . 193
To the General Court, Boston, February 17, 1899 . 195
At Commercial Club Reception, Boston, February 17,
1899 197
Remarks at Union League Dinner, Philadelphia, April 27,
1899 200
Speech at Academy of Music, Philadelphia, April 27, 1899 201
Remarks on board the U. S. S. Raleigh, Philadelphia,
April 28, 1899 203
Speech at Harrisonburg, Virginia, May 20, 1899 . . 204
Xll
CONTEXTS.
PAGE
Speech at Mount Holyoke College, Soutli Hadley,
Massachusetts, June 20, 1899 205
At Springfield, Massachusetts, June 21, 1899 . . 206
At Reception of Grand Army Post, Adams, Massachu-
setts, June 24, 1899 207
At Adams, Massachusetts, June 26, 1899 . . . 208
At Catholic Summer School, Cliff Haven, New York,
August 15, 1899 209
At Ocean Grove, New Jersey, August 25, 1899 . . 210
Address before Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment, U. S. V. ,
Pittsbui-g, August 28, 1899 211
Speech at East Liverpool, Ohio, August 28, 1899 . . 218
At East Liverpool, Ohio, August 29, 1899 . . .219
Remarks at Canton, Ohio, August 30, 1899 . . . 220
Speech at Canton, Ohio, Avigust 30, 1899 . . .221
At G. A. R. Encampment, Philadelphia, September 5,
1899 222
At Banquet of Meade, Lafayette, and Kinsley Posts,
G. A. R., Philadelphia, September 5, 1899 . . 224
Remarks upon Presentation of a Sword to Admiral
Dewey, at the Capitol, Washington, October 3, 1899 . 225
Speech at Quiney, Illinois, October 6, 1899 . . . 226
Remarks at Macomb, Illinois, October 6, 1899 . . . 227
At BushneU, Illinois, October 6, 1899 . . . .228
Speech at Canton, lUinois, October 6, 1899 . . . 229
At Peoria, Illinois, October 6, 1899 . . . .230
Remarks at Peoria, Illinois, upon Presentation of an Al-
bum, October 6, 1899 232
Address at Galesburg, Illinois, October 7, 1899 . . 232
Speech at Kewanee, Illinois, October 7, 1899 . . . 236
At La Salle, Illinois, October 7, 1899 . . . .237
At Ottawa, THinois, October 7, 1899 . . . .238
At Joliet, lUinois, October 7, 1899 . . . .239
CONTENTS. xiii
PAGE
Remarks at Children's Exercises, Auditorium, Chicago,
October 8, 1899 241
At Quinn Chapel, Chicago, October 8, 1899 . . 241
At Banquet of Marquette Club, Chicago, October 7,
1899 . . / 242
Speech at Citizens' Banquet, Chicago, October 9, 1899 . 243
At Reunion of the Army of the Tennessee, Chicago,
October 10, 1899 247
To Chicago Bricklayers and Stone-Masons' Union,
Chicago, October 10, 1899 248
At Banquet of Commercial Club, Chicago, October
10, 1899 250
At Fair Grounds, Evansville, Indiana, October 11, 1899 253
Remarks from Train, Evansville, Indiana, October 11, 1899 255
Speech at Vincennes, Indiana, October 11, 1899 . . 255
At Terre Haute, Indiana, October 11, 1899 . . . 256
At Danville, Hhnois, October 11, 1899 . . .257
At Hoopestown, Illinois, October 11, 1899 . . . 258
At Watseka, lUinois, October 11, 1899 . . .260
Remarks at Red Wing, Minnesota, October 12, 1899 . 261
Address at Minneapolis, October 12, 1899 . . . 262
Speech at Auditorium, St. Paul, October 12, 1899 . . 269
At Superior, Wisconsin, October 13, 1899 . . . 271
At Duluth, Minnesota, October 13, 1899 . . .272
Remarks at Aitkin, IMinnesota, October 13, 1899 . . 274
Speech at Brainerd, Minnesota, October 13, 1899 . . 275
Remarks at Staples, Minnesota, October 13, 1899 . . 276
Speech at Wadena, Minnesota, October 13, 1899 . . 277
Remarks at Detroit City, Minnesota, October 13, 1899 . 278
Speech at Fargo, North Dakota, October 13, 1899 . . 279
At Wahpeton, North Dakota, October 13, 1899 . . 282
At Aberdeen, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . 284
XIV
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Speecli at Redfield, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . 286
At Hm-on, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . .288
At Lake Preston, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . 290
At Madison, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . 291
At Egan, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . .293
At Sioux Falls, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . 294
At Yankton, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . 298
Remarks at Vermilion, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . 300
At Elk Point, South Dakota, October 14, 1899 . . 300
At Whitfield Methodist Episcopal Sunday-School,
Sioux City, Iowa, October 15, 1899 . . . .301
Speech at Iowa FaUs, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . . 301
At Ackley, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . . .302
At Parkersburg, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . . 303
At Cedar Falls, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . .304
At Waterloo, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . . .305
At Independence, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . . 307
At Manchester, Iowa, October 16, 1899 . . .308
At Dubuque, Iowa, October 16, 1899 .... 310
At Galena, Illinois, October 16, 1899 . . . .312
At Ipswich, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899 . . . 313
At Dodgeville, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899 . . 314
At Motmt Horeb, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899 . . 316
At Madison, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899 . . .317
At Waukesha, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899 . . 321
At Deutscher Club, MUwaukee, October 16, 1899 . 322
At Banquet of Merchants and Manufactvirers' Associa-
tion, Milwaukee, October 16, 1899 . . . .323
Remarks at Iron Foundries, Milwaukee, October 17, 1899 325
Speech at Racine, Wisconsin, October 17, 1899 . . 326
Remarks at Kenosha, Wisconsin, October 17, 1899 . . 328
Speech at Waukegan, Illinois, October 17, 1899 . . 329
CONTENTS.
XV
PAGE
Speech at Evanston, Illinois, October 17, 1899 . . 331
Remarks at Michigan City, Indiana, October 17, 1899 . 332
At Three Oaks, Michigan, October 17, 1899 . . 333
At Niles, Michigan, October 17, 1899 . . . .334
At Battle Creek, Michigan, October 17, 1899 . . 334
Speech at Jackson, Michigan, October 17, 1899 . . 335
Remarks at the Hollenden, Cleveland, Ohio, October 18,
1899 337
Speech at Warren, Ohio, October 18, 1899 . . .338
Remarks at Niles, Ohio, October 18, 1899 . . .340
Speech at Youngstown, Ohio, October 18, 1899 . . 341
At Public Reception, Youngstown, Ohio, October 18,
1899 344
Response to Committee PresentiBg a Peace Petition Urg-
ing Mediation of United States between Great Britain
and the Boers, Executive Mansion, October 26, 1899 . 347
Remarks at Fredericksburg, Virginia, October 31, 1899 . 348
At Ashland, Virginia, October 31, 1899 . . .348
At Railroad Station, Richmond, Virginia, October 31,
1899 349
Speech at Richmond, Virginia, October 31, 1899 . . 349
Address at Washington Memorial Services, Mount Ver-
non, December 14, 1899 355
Reply to Delegates from National Board of Trade,
Executive Mansion, January 24, 1900 .... 359
Speech at Banquet of Loyal Legion, Washington, Febru-
ary 22, 1900 360
At Banquet of Ohio Society of New York, New York,
March 3, 1900 361
Address at Ecumenical Conference, New York, April 21,
1900 • . . 366
Speech at Antietam Battle-field, Maryland, May 30,
1900 . • 369
Speech at Canton, Ohio, upon Departure
FOR Washington, D. C, March 1, 1897.
My Neighbors and Friends and Fellow-GUizens :
On the eve of departure to the seat of government,
soon to assume the duties of an arduous responsibility,
as great as can devolve upon any man, nothing could
give me greater pleasure than this farewell greeting—
this evidence of your friendship and sympathy, your
good will, and, I am sure, the prayers of all the people
with whom I have lived so long, and whose confidence
and esteem are dearer to me than any other earthly
honors. To all of us the future is as a sealed book;
but if I can, by official act or administration or utter-
ance, in any degree add to the prosperity and unity of
our beloved country and the advancement and well-being
of our splendid citizenship, I will devote the best and
most unselfish efforts of my life to that end. [Loud
and continued applause.]
The assumption of the chief magistracy is of such
grave importance that partizanship cannot blind the
judgment or accept any other consideration than the
public good of all, of every party and every section.
1 1
2 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
With this thought uppermost in my mind, I reluctantly
take leave of my friends and neighbors, cherishing
in my heart the sweetest memories and the tenderest
thoughts of my old home— my home now, and, I trust,
my home hereafter, so long as I live. [Tremendous
applause.] I thank you and bid you all good-by.
II.
Inaugural Address, Delivered from East Front
OF THE Capitol, Washington, March 4, 1897.
Felloiv-Citizens :
In obedience to the will of the people and in their
presence, by the authority vested in me by this oath, I
assume the arduous and responsible duties of President
of the United States, relying on the support of my
countrymen and invoking the guidance of Almighty
God. Oui- faith teaches that there is no safer reliance
than upon the God of our fathers, who has so singu-
larly favored the American people in every national
trial, and who will not forsake us so long as we obey
his commandments and walk humbly in his footsteps.
The responsibilities of the high trust to which I have
been called— always of grave importance— are aug-
mented by the prevailing business conditions, entailing
idleness upon willing labor and loss to useful enter-
prises. The country is suffering from industrial dis-
turbances from which speedy relief must be had. Our
financial system needs some revision ; our money is all
good now, but its value must not f ui-ther be threatened.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 3
It should all be put upon an enduring basis, not sub-
ject to easy attack or its stability to doubt or dispute.
Our currency should continue under the supervision of
the government. The several forms of our paper
money offer, in my judgment, a constant embarrassment
to the government and to a safe balance in the Treasury.
Therefore I believe it necessary to devise a system
which, without diminishing the circulating medium or
offering a premium for its contraction, will present a
remedy for those arrangements, which, temporary in
their nature, might well in the years of our prosperity
have been displaced by wiser provisions. With ade-
quate revenue secured, but not until then, we can enter
upon such changes in our fiscal laws as will, while in-
suring safety and volume to our money, no longer
impose upon the government the necessity of maintain-
ing so large a gold reserve, with its attendant and
inevitable temptations to speculation. Most of our
financial laws are the outgrowth of experience and
trial, and should not be amended without investigation
and demonstration of the wisdom of the proposed
changes. We must both "be sure we are right" and
"make haste slowly." If, therefore. Congress in its
wisdom shall deem it expedient to create a commission
to take under early consideration the revision of our
coinage, banking, and currency laws, and give them
that exhaustive, careful, and dispassionate examination
that their importance demands, I shall cordially concur
in such action. If such power is vested in the Presi-
dent, it is my purpose to appoint a commission of
prominent, well-informed citizens of different parties,
who will command public confidence both on account
of their ability and special fitness for the work. Busi-
\
4: SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
ness experience and public training may thus be com-
bined, and the patriotic zeal of the friends of the
country be so directed that such a report will be made
as to receive the support of all parties, and our finances
cease to be the subject of mere partizan contention.
The experiment is, at aU events, worth a trial, and, in
my opinion, it can but prove beneficial to the entire
country.
The question of international bimetallism will have
early and earnest attention. It will be my constant
endeavor to secure it by cooperation with the other
great commercial powers of the world. Until that
condition is realized when the parity between our gold
and silver mone}^ springs from and is supported by the
relative value of the two metals, the value of the silver
already coined, and of that which may hereafter be
coined, must be kept constantly at par with gold by
every resource at our command. The credit of the
government, the integrity of its currency, and the in-
violability of its obligations must be preserved. This
was the commanding verdict of the people, and it will not
be unheeded.
Economy is demanded in every branch of the govern-
ment at all times, but especially in periods like the
present, of depression in business and distress among
the people. The severest economy must be observed
in all public expenditures, and extravagance stopped
wherever it is found, and prevented wherever in the
future it may be developed./ If the revenues are to re-
main as now, the only relief that can come must be
from decreased expenditures. But the present must
not become the permanent condition of the govern-
ment. It has been our uniform practice to retire, not
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 5
increase, our outstanding obligations, and this policy
must again be resumed and vigorously enforced. Our
revenues should always be large enough to meet with
ease and promptness not only our current needs, and
the principal and interest of the public debt, bnt to
make proper and liberal provision for that most de-
serving body of pubUe creditors, the soldiers and
sailors and the widows and orphans who are the pen-
sioners of the United States.
The government should not be permitted to run be-
hind or increase its debt in times like the present.
Suitably to provide against this is the mandate of duty,
the certain and easy remedy for most of onr financial
difficulties. A deficiency is inevitable so long as the
expenditures of the government exceed its receipts.
It can only be met by loans or an increased revenue.
While a large annual surplus of revenue may invite
waste and extravagance, inadequate revenue creates
distrust and undermines public and private credit.
Neither should be encouraged. Between more loans
and more revenue there ought to be but one opinion.
We should have more revenue, and that without delay,
hindrance, or postponement. A surplus in the Trea-
sury created by loans is not a permanent or safe reli-
ance. It will suffice while it lasts, but it cannot
last long while the outlays of the government are
greater than its receipts, as has been the case during
the past two years. Nor must it be forgotten that how-
ever much such loans may temporarily relieve the
situation, the government is still indebted for the
amount of the surplus thus accrued, which it must
ultimately pay, while its ability to pay is not strength-
ened, but weakened, by a continued deficit. Loans are
6 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
imperative in great emergencies to preserve the gov-
ernment or its credit, but a failure to supply needed
revenue in time of peace for the maintenance of either
has no justification.
The best way for the government to maintain its
credit is to pay as it goes— not by resorting to loans,
but by keeping out of debt— through an adequate in-
come secured by a system of taxation, external or
internal, or both. It is the settled policy of the gov-
ernment, pursued from the beginning and practised by
all parties and administrations, to raise the bulk of our
revenue from taxes upon foreign productions entering
the United States for sale and consumption, and avoid-
ing, for the most part, every form of direct taxation,
except in time of war. The country is clearly opposed
to any needless additions to the subjects of internal tax-
ation, and is committed by its latest popular utterance
to the system of tariff taxation. There can be no mis-
understanding, either, about the principle upon which
this tariff taxation shall be levied. Nothing has ever
been made plainer at a general election than that the
controlling principle in the raising of revenue from
duties on imports is zealous care for American interests
and American labor. The people have declared that
such legislation should be had as will give ample pro-
tection and encouragement to the industries and the
development of our country. It is, therefore, earnestly
hoped and expected that Congress will, at the earliest
practicable moment, enact revenue legislation that shall
be fair, reasonable, conservative, and just, and which,
while supplying sufficient revenue for public purposes,
will still be signally beneficial and helpful to every
section and every enterprise of the people. To this
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 7
policy, we are all, of whatever party, firmly bound by
the voice of" the people— a power vastly more potential
than the expression of any political platform. The
paramount duty of Congress is to stop deficiencies by
the restoration of that protective legislation which has
always been the firmest prop of the Treasury. The
passage of such a law or laws would strengthen the
credit of the government both at home and abroad, and
go far toward stopping the drain upon the gold reserve
held for the redemption of our currency, which has
been heavy and well-nigh constant for several years.
In the revision of the tariff especial attention should
be a-iven to the reenactment and extension of the re-
ciprocity principle of the law of 1890, under which so
great a stimulus was given to our foreign trade in new
and advantageous markets for our surplus agricultural
and manufactured products. The brief trial given this
legislation amply justifies a further experiment and ad-
ditional discretionary power in the making of commer-
cial treaties, the end in view always to be the opening
up of new markets for the products of our country, by
granting concessions to the products of other lands that
we need and cannot produce ourselves, and which do
not involve any loss of labor to our own people, but
tend "to increase their employment.
The depression of the past four years has fallen with
especial severity upon the great body of toilers of the
country, and upon none more than the holders of small
farms. Agriculture has languished and labor suft'ered.
The revival of manufacturing will be a relief to both.
No portion of our population is more devoted to the in-
stitutions of free government, nor more loyal in their
support, while none bears more cheerfully or fully its
y
8 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
proper share in the maintenance of the government, or is
better entitled to its wise and liberal care and protection.
Legislation helpful to producers is beneficial to all. The
depressed condition of industry on the farm and in the
mine and factory has lessened the ability of the people to
meet the demands upon them ; and they rightfully expect
that not only a system of revenue shall be established
that will secure the largest income with the least burden,
but that every means will be taken to decrease, rather
than increase, our public expenditures. Business con-
ditions are not the most promising. It will take time
to restore the prosperity of former years. If we cannot
promptly attain it, we can resolutely turn our faces in
that direction and aid its return by friendly legislation.
However troublesome the situation may appear, Con-
gress will not, I am sure, be found lacking in disposi-
tion or ability to relieve it as far as legislation can do
so. The restoration of confidence and the revival of
business, which men of all parties so much desire, de-
pend more largely upon the prompt, energetic, and in-
telligent action of Congress than upon any other single
agency affecting the situation.
It is inspiring, too, to remember that no great emer-
gency in the one hundred and eight years of our eventful
national life has ever arisen that has not been met with
wisdom and coui-age by the American people, with fidel-
ity to their best interests and highest destiny, and to
the honor of the American name. These years of glori-
ous history have exalted mankind and advanced the
cause of freedom throughout the world, and immeasu-
rably strengthened the precious free institutions which
we enjoy. The people love and will sustain these
institutions. The great essential to our happiness and
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 9
prosperity is that we adhere to the principles upon
which the government was established, and insist upon
their faithful observance. Equality of rights must pre-
vail, and our laws be always and everywhere respected
and obeyed. We may have failed in the discharge of
our full duty as citizens of the great republic, but it is
consoling and encouraging to realize that free speech, a
free press, free thought, free schools, the free and un-
molested right of religious liberty and worship, and free
and fair elections are dearer and more universally en-
joyed to-day than ever before. These guaranties must
be sacredly preserved and wisely strengthened. The »
constituted authorities must be cheerfully and vigor-
ously upheld. Lynchings must not be tolerated in a
great and civilized country like the United States;
courts, not mobs, must execute the penalties of the law.
The preservation of public order, the right of discussion,
the integrity of courts, and the orderly administration
of justice must continue forever the rock of safety upon /
which our government securely rests.^.
One of the lessons taught by the late election, which
all can rejoice in, is that the citizens of the United
States are both law-respecting and law-abiding people,
not easily swerved from the path of patriotism and
honor. This is in entire accord with the genius of our
institutions, and but emphasizes the advantages of in-
culcating even a gi-eater love for law and order in the
future. Immunity should be granted to none who vio-
late the laws, whether individuals, corporations, or com-
munities; and as the Constitution imposes upon the
President the duty of both its own execution and of
the statutes enacted in pursuance of its provisions, I
shall endeavor carefully to carry them into effect. The
10 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
declaration of the party now restored to power has been
in the past that of "opposition to all combinations of
capital, organized in trusts or otherwise, to control arbi-
trarily the condition of trade among onr citizens " ; and
it has supported " such legislation as will prevent the
execution of all schemes to oppress the people by undue
charges on their supj)lies or by unjust rates for the
transportation of their products to market." This pur-
pose will be steadil}^ pursued, both by the enforcement
of the laws now in existence and the recommendation
and support of such new statutes as may be necessary
to carry it into effect.
Our naturalization and immigration laws should be
further improved, to the constant promotion of a safer,
a better, and a higher citizenship. A grave peril to the
republic would be a citizenship too ignorant to under-
stand or too vicious to appreciate the great value and
beneficence of our institutions and laws, and against all
who come here to make war upon them our gates must
\ be promptly and tightly closed. ,' Nor must we be un-
mindful of the need of improvement among our own
citizens, but, with the zeal of our forefathers, encourage
the spread of knowledge and free education. Illiteracy
must be banished from the land if we shall attain to
that high destiny as the foremost of the enlightened
nations of the world which, under Providence, we ought
to achieve.
v^ Reforms in the civil service must go on. But the
changes should be real and genuine, not perfunctory, or
prompted by a zeal in behalf of any party, simply be-
cause it happens to be in power. As a member of Con-
gress I voted and spoke in favor of the present law,
and I shall attempt its enforcement in the spirit in which
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. ii
it was enacted. The purpose in view was to secure the
most efficient service of the best men who would accept
appointment under the government, retaining faithful
and devoted public servants in office, but shielding none,
under the authority of any rule or custom, who are
inefficient, incompetent, or unworthy. The best inter-
ests of the country demand this, and the people heartily
approve the law wherever and whenever it has been
thus administered.
Congress should give prompt attention to the restora-
tion of our American merchant marine, once the pride
of the seas in all the great ocean highways of commerce.
To my mind few more important subjects so imperatively
demand its intelligent consideration. The United
States has progressed with marvelous rapidity in every
field of enterprise and endeavor, until we have become
foremost in nearly all the great lines of inland trade,
commerce, and industry. Yet, while this is true, our
American merchant marine has been steadily declining,
until it is now lower both in the percentage of tonnage
and the number of vessels employed than it was prior
to the Civil War. Commendable progress has been
made of late years in the upbuilding of the American
navy ; but we must supplement these efforts by providing
as a proper consort for it a merchant marine amply
sufficient for our own carrying trade to foreign coun-
tries. The question is one that appeals both to our
business necessities and the patriotic aspii-ations of a
great people.
It has been the policy of the United States, since the
foundation of the government, to cultivate relations of
peace and amity with all the nations of the world, and
this accords with my conception of oui* duty now. , We
12 SPEECHES AND ADDKESSES
have cherished the policy of non-interference with the
affairs of foreign governments, wisely inaugurated by
Washington, keeping ourselves free from entangle-
ment either as allies or foes, content to leave undisturbed
with them the settlement of their own domestic con-
cerns. It will be our aim to pursue a firm and dignified
foreign policy, which shall be just, impartial, ever watch-
ful of our national honor, and always insisting upon the
enforcement of the lawful rights of American citizens
everywhere. Our diplomacy should seek nothing more
and accept nothing less than is due us. We want no
wars of conquest; we must avoid the temptation of
territorial aggression. War should never be entered
upon until every agency of peace has failed ; peace is
preferable to war in almost every contingency. Arbi-
tration is the true method of settlement of international
as well as local or individual differences.^' It was recog-
nized as the best means of adjustment of differences
between employers and employees by the Forty-ninth
Congress in 1886, and its application was extended to
our diplomatic relations by the unanimous concurrence
of the Senate and House of the Fifty-first Congress in
1890. The latter resolution was accepted as the basis
of negotiations with us by the British House of Com-
mons in 1893; and upon our invitation a treaty of
arbitration between the United States and Great Britain
was signed at Washington and transmitted to the Senate
for its ratification in January last. Since this treaty is
clearly the result of our own initiative, since it has been
recognized as the leading feature of our foreign pohcy
throughout our entire national history,— the adjustment
of difficulties by judicial methods rather than force of
arms,— and since it presents to the world the glorious
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 13
example of reason and peace, not passion and war,
controlling the relations between two of the greatest na-
tions of the world, an example certain to be followed by-
others, I respectfully urge the early action of the Senate
thereon, not merely as a matter of policy, but as a duty
to mankind. The importance and moral influence of
the ratification of such a treaty can hardly be overesti-
mated in the cause of advancing civilization. It may
well engage the best thought of the statesmen and people
of every country, and I cannot but consider it fortunate
that it was reserved to the United States to have the
leadership in so grand a work.
It has been the uniform practice of each President to
avoid, as far as possible, the convening of Congress in
extraordinary session. It is an example which, under
ordinary circumstances and in the absence of a public
necessity, is to be commended. But a failure to con-
vene the representatives of the people in Congress in
extra session when it involves neglect of a j)ublic duty
places the resj^onsibility of such neglect upon the Execu-
tive himself. The condition of the public Treasury, as
has been indicated, demands the immediate considera-
tion of Congress. It alone has the power to provide
revenues for the government. Not to convene it under
such circumstances I can view in no other sense than
the neglect of a plain duty. I do not sympathize with
the sentiment that Congress in session is dangerous to
our general business interests. Its members are the
agents of the people, and their presence at the seat of
government in the execution of the sovereign will should
not operate as an injury, but a benefit. There could be
no better time to put the government upon a sound finan-
cial and economic basis than now. The people have
14 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
only recently voted that this shonld be done, and nothing
is more binding upon the agents of their will than the
obligation of immediate action. It has always seemed
to me that the postponement of the meeting of Congress
until more than a year after it has been chosen deprived
Congress too often of the inspiration of the popular will,
and the country of the corresponding benefits. It is
evident, therefore, that to postpone action in the pres-
ence of so great a necessity would be unwise on the
part of the Executive, because unjust to the interests of
the people. Our actions now will be freer from mere
partizan consideration than if the question of tariff
revision was postponed until the regular session of Con-
gress. We are nearly two years from a congressional
election, and politics cannot so greatly distract us as if
such contest was immediately pending. We can ap-
proach the problem calmly and patriotically, without
fearing its effect upon an early election. Our fellow-
citizens who may disagree with us upon the character of
this legislation prefer to have the question settled now,
even against their preconceived views, and perhaps set-
tled so reasonably, as I trust and believe it will be, as to
insure great permanence, than to have further uncer-
tainty menacing the vast and varied business interests
of the United States. Again, whatever action Congress
may take will be given a fair opportunity for trial before
the people are caUed to pass judgment upon it, and this
I consider a great essential to the rightful and lasting
settlement of the question. In view of these considera-
tions, I shall deem it my duty as President to convene
Congress in extraordinary session on Monday, the fif-
teenth day of March, 1897.
In conclusion, I congratulate the country upon the
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 15
fraternal spirit of the people and the manifestations of
good will everywhere so apparent. The recent election
most fortunately demonstrated the obliteration not only
of sectional or geographical lines, but to some extent
also of the prejudices which for years have distracted our
councils and marred our true greatness as a nation. The
triumph of the people whose verdict is carried into
effect to-day is not the triumph of one section nor wholly
of one party, but of all sections and all the people. The
North and the South no longer divide on the old lines,
but upon principles and policies ; and in this fact surely
every lover of the country can find cause for true felici-
tation. Let us rejoice in and cultivate this spirit ; it is
ennobling, and will be both a gain and blessing to our
beloved country. It will be my constant aim to do
nothing, and permit nothing to be done, that will arrest
or disturb this growing sentiment of unity and coopera-
tion, this revival of esteem and affiliation, which now
animates so many thousands in both the old antagonistic
sections, but I shall cheerfully do everything possible to
promote and increase it.
Let me again repeat the words of the oath adminis-
tered by the Chief Justice, which in their respective
spheres, so far as applicable, I would have all my coun-
trymen observe : "I will faithfully execute the office of
President of the United States, and wiU to the best of
my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitu-
tion of the United States." This is the obligation I have
reverently taken before the Lord Most High. To keep
it will be my single purpose, my constant prayer ; and I
shall confidently rely upon the forbearance and assistance
of all the people in the discharge of my solemn responsi-
bilities.
16 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
III.
Address at the Dedication op the Grant Monu-
ment, New York, April 27, 1897.
Fellow- Citkens :
A great life, dedicated to the welfare of the nation,
here finds its earthly coronation. Even if this day
lacked the impressiveness of ceremony and was devoid
of pageantry, it would still be memorable, because it is
the anniversary of the birth of one of the most famous
and best beloved of American soldiers.
Architecture has paid high tribute to the leaders of
mankind, but never was a memorial more worthily
bestowed or more gratefully accepted by a free people
than the beautiful structure before which we are gathered.
In marking the successful completion of this work, we
have as witnesses and participants representatives of
all branches of our government, the resident ofiicials of
foreign nations, the governors of States, and the sover-
eign people from every section of our common country,
who join in this august tribute to the soldier, patriot,
and citizen.
Almost twelve years have passed since the heroic vigil
ended and the brave spirit of Ulysses S. Grant fearlessly
took its flight. Lincoln and Stanton had preceded him,
but of the mighty captains of the war Grant was the first
to be caUed. Sherman and Sheridan survived him, but
have since joined him on the other shore.
The great heroes of the civil strife on land and sea
are, for the most part, now no more. Thomas and
Hancock, Logan and McPherson, Farragut, Dupont, and
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 17
Porter, and a host of others, have passed forever from
human sight. Those remaining grow dearer to us, and
from them and the memory of those who have departed,
generations yet unborn will draw their inspiration and
gather strength for patriotic purpose.
A great life never dies. Great deeds are imperish-
able ; great names immortal. General Grant's services
and character will continue undiminished in influence,
and advance in the estimation of mankind so long as
liberty remains the corner-stone of free government and
integrity of life the guaranty of good citizenship.
Faithful and fearless as a volunteer soldier, intrepid
and invincible as commander-in-chief of the armies of
the Union, calm and confident as President of a reunited
and strengthened nation which his genius had been
instrumental in achieving, he has our homage and that
of the world ; but brilliant as was his public character,
we love him all the more for his home life and homely
virtues. His individuality, his bearing and speech, his
simple ways, had a flavor of rare and unique distinc-
tion; and his Americanism was so true and uncom-
promising that his name will stand for all time as the
embodiment of liberty, loyalty, and national unity.
Victorious in the work which, under divine Provi-
dence, he was called upon to do, clothed with almost
limitless power, he was yet one of the people— plain,
patient, patriotic, and just. Success did not disturb
the even balance of liis mind, while fame was powerless
to swerve him from the path of duty. Great as he was
in war, he loved peace, and told the world that honor-
able arbitration of differences was the best hope of
civilization.
With Washington and Lincoln, Grant has an exalted
18 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
place in history and the affections of the people. To-day
his memory is held in equal esteem by those whom he
led to victory and by those who accepted his generous
terms of peace. The veteran leaders of the blue and the
gray here meet not only to honor the name of the de-
parted Grant, but to testify to the living reality of a fra-
ternal national spirit which has triumphed over the
differences of the past and transcends the limitations
of sectional lines. Its completion, which we pray God
to speed, will be the nation's greatest glory.
It is right, then, that General Grant should have a
memorial commensurate with his greatness, and that his
last resting-place should be the city of his choice, to
which he was so attached in life, and of whose ties he
was not forgetful even in death. Fitting, too, is it that
the great soldier should sleep beside the noble river on
whose banks he first learned the art of war, of which
he became master and leader without a rival.
But let us not forget the glorious distinction with
which the metropolis among the fair sisterhood of
American cities has honored his life and memory. With
all that riches and sculpture can do to render the edifice
worthy of the man, upon a site unsurpassed for magnif-
icence, has this monument been reared by New York as
a perpetual record of his illustrious deeds, in the cer-
tainty that, as time passes, around it will assemble, with
gratitude and reverence and veneration, men of all
climes, races, and nationalities.
New York holds in her keeping the precious dust of
the silent soldier; but his achievements— what he and
his brave comrades wrought for mankind— are in the
keeping of seventy millions of American citizens, who
will guard the sacred heritage forever and forevermore.
OP WILLIAM Mckinley. 19
IV.
Address at the Unveiling of the "Washington
Statue by the Society of the Cincinnati, Phila-
delphia, May 15, 1897.
Fellow-Citizens :
There is a peculiar and tender sentiment connected
with this memorial. It expresses not only the gratitude
and reverence of the living, but is a testimonial of
affection and homage from the dead.
The comrades of Washington projected this monu-
ment. Their love inspired it. Their contributions
helped to build it. Past and present share in its com-
pletion, and future generations will profit by its lessons.
To participate in the dedication of such a monument
is a rare and precious privilege. Every monument to
Washington is a tribute to patriotism. Every shaft and
statue to his memory helps to inculcate love of coun-
try, encourage loyalty, and establish a better citizenship.
God bless every undertaking which revives patriotism
and rebukes the indifferent and lawless!
A critical study of Washington's career only en-
hances our estimation of his vast and varied abilities.
As commander-in-chief of the colonial armies from the
beginning of the war to the proclamation of peace, as
president of the convention which framed the Consti-
tution of the United States, and as the first President of
the United States under that Constitution, Washington
has a distinction differing from that of all other illus-
trious Americans. No other name bears or can bear such
20 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
a relation to the government. Not only by his military
genius— his patience, his sagacity, his courage, and his
skill— was our national independence won, but he helped
in largest measure to draft the chart by which the nation
was guided ; and he was the first chosen of the people
to put in motion the new government.
His was not the boldness of martial display or the
charm of captivating oratory ; but his calm and steady
judgment won men's support and commanded their con-
fidence by appealing to their best and noblest aspira-
tions. And withal Washington was ever so modest that
at no time in his career did his personality seem in the
least intrusive. He was above the temptation of power.
He spurned the suggested crown. He would have no
honor which the people did not bestow.
An interesting fact— and one which I love to recall— is
that the only time Washington formally addressed the
Constitutional Convention, during all its sessions over
which he presided in this city, he appealed for a larger
representation of the people in the national House of
Representatives, and his appeal was instantly heeded.
Thus was he ever keenly watchful of the rights of the
people, in whose hands was the destiny of our govern-
ment then as it is to-day.
Masterful as were his military campaigns, his civil
administration commands equal admiration. His fore-
sight was marvelous ; his conception of the philosophy
of government, his insistence upon the necessity of edu-
cation, morality, and enlightened citizenship to the
progress and permanence of the republic, cannot be con-
templated even at this period without fiUing us with
astonishment at the breadth of his comprehension and
the sweep of his vision.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 21
His was no narrow view of government. The immedi-
ate present was not his sole concern, but our future good
his constant theme of study. He blazed the path of
liberty. He laid the foundation upon which we have
grown from weak and scattered colonial governments
to a united republic, whose domains and power, as well
as whose liberty and freedom, have become the admiration
of the world. Distance and time have not detracted
from the fame and force of his achievements or dimin-
ished the grandeur of his life and work. Great deeds do
not stop in their growth, and those of Washington will
expand in influence in all the centuries to follow.
The bequest Washington has made to civilization is
rich beyond computation. The obligations under which
he has placed mankind are sacred and commanding.
The responsibility he has left for the American people to
preserve and perfect what he accomplished is exacting
and solemn. Let us rejoice in every new evidence that
the people realize what they enjoy, and cherish with affec-
tion the illustrious heroes of Revolutionary story whose
valor and sacrifices made us a nation. They live in us,
and their memory will help us keep the covenant entered
into for the maintenance of the freest government on
earth.
The nation and the name of Washington are insepa-
rable. One is linked indissolubly with the other. Both
are glorious, both triumphant. Washington lives and
will live because what he did was for the exaltation of
man, the enthronement of conscience, and the establish-
ment of a government which recognizes all the governed.
And so, too, will the nation live victorious over all ob-
stacles, adhering to the immortal principles which Wash-
ington taught and Lincoln sustained.
22 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
V
Rejiarks to the American Medical Association,
Academy of Music, Philadelphia, June 2, 1897.
Mr. CJiairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :
Although summoued to this city for another purpose,
I deem mj^self most fortunate to find this honorable as-
sociation, in its semi-centennial convention, meeting on
the same day, and I could not refrain from taking a
moment from the busy program mapped out for me by
Dr. Pepper, whose assurance I had before coming here
that it would be a day of rest [laughter], which I have
already begun to realize [renewed laughter]. I could
not refrain from pausing a moment, that I might come
into this brilliant presence to meet the learned gentlemen
here assembled, and to pay my respectful homage to the
noble profession which you so worthily represent. [Ap-
plause.] You have my best wishes, and, I am sure, the
best wishes of all our countrymen, for the highest results
of your profession, and my warm and hearty congratula-
tions upon this your fiftieth anniversary. [Applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 23
VI.
Remarks at the School of Industrl^l Art,
Philadelphia, June 2, 1897.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It gives me very sincere pleasure to see, as I have
seen in the last few minutes, this great industrial
school of art. There is nothing like the application of
art to industry. Nothing wins in this world like industry
supplemented by character. Industry and character win
in every contest and triumph in every field. I con-
gratulate the young men and young women upon the
opportunities which this institution gives them, and I
congratulate the officers and board of managers in
having charge of this institution. [Applause.]
VII.
Address at the National Opening of the Phila-
delphia MusETOis, Philadelphia, June 2, 1897.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
To have assembled the representatives of great com-
mercial and industrial interests at home and abroad in
such large numbers is so unusual as to make this a
memorable event. Chambers of commerce and boards
of trade, mayors of cities and governors of States, to-
gether with official visitors from fifteen other nations,
24 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
■unite to testify to the importance attached to this under-
taking.
Every one of our sister republics of this continent is
here represented through its special minister, and in a
number of instances large delegations of prominent
citizens have made long journeys at great sacrifice to
participate in this significant occasion. To all we give
hearty greeting and a most hospitable welcome.
No ordinary object could have produced such an in-
dustrial convention. Interstate and international inter-
ests and courtesy have contributed to its success ; but
nothing less than a deep conviction in the minds of the
people represented, that the movement here begun will
eventually effect permanent gains in their commercial
relations, can account for its wide and distinguished
character.
The avowed aim of the Philadelphia Museums is to
aid in the development of commercial and industrial
prosperity. No worthier cause can engage our energies
at this hour. It is a most praiseworthy one — the ex-
tension of trade to be followed by wider markets, better
fields of employment, and easier conditions for the
masses. Such an effort commands the instant approval
of all lovers of mankind, for with it are linked the pros-
perity of the humblest toiler and the welfare of every
home and fireside.
The movement is inaugurated on broad and progres-
sive lines. Its authors and promoters believe that the
conditions of international commerce can be directly
promoted by systematic study and demonstrated by
scientific methods. The distinguished body of gentle-
men who hiiye planned this organization have grasped
great economic truths, and are prepared to pursue them
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 25
to their successful conclusion. Its generous support '
will increase its usefulness.
One national industrial undertaking prepares the way
for another. A great exhibit like this is an education
and an inspiration. It concentrates the attention of the
citizens It broadens their ideas, strengthens their con-
fidence, promotes the spirit of friendly cooperation and
rivalry^ awakens a commendable ambition, and encour-
ages effort in the utilization of all forces and processes
of production.
The World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago was the
forerunner of this less general but more permanent
contribution to the world's economic advance. Many of
the Chicago exhibits here remain intact, and have been
intelligently supplemented to such an extent that the
management of the Philadelphia Museums make the
proud claim that their exhibition is the most complete
and extensive of its class now in existence.
Not only has a wonderful demonstration been made
of the products and advancement of our country, but of
those of all the American republics. A spirit of friendly
and mutually advantageous interchange and cooperation
has been exemplified, which is in itself an inspiring help
not only to trade and commerce, but to international
comity and good will.
Good will precedes good trade.
The producer and consumer of both continents are
here brought together in close touch, and are taught to
work together for the common weal. In order that new
markets may be opened and a larger trade profitably
conducted, the manufacturer must have the opportunity
of becoming familiar with the character of the goods
desired by the consumer. And so, too, the consumer
26 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
should have the opportunity to examine the goods which
the manufacturer is anxious to dispose of to him.
It follows, then, that a recognized central institution
of real stability such as this is, whose integrity of man-
agement cannot be questioned, with ample means can
be made of inestimable advantage not only to a genera-
tion in a single country, but to a whole continent and
for the vast future. Ability as well as capital is essen-
tial to the success of trade, and fortunately with both of
these the Museums are well equipped. It is said that
the data which can here be found ready for quick and
accurate reference are obtainable to a degree not even
attempted anywhere else in the world.
Under the circumstances, and even at this early date,
it is not too much to say that a movement of this kind
is, in its general scope, national— aye, and more than
that, international— in character, and to predict that its
success, if wisely conducted, will surprise even its most
enthusiastic friends and founders. Resting upon busi-
ness principles, looking solely to the welfare of the
country at large, benefiting other nations as well as our
own, the intent and realization of this world's industrial
object-lesson are in accord with the best spirit of the age
and worthy of the good will and helpfulness of every
patriotic American.
I assure the promoters of this enterprise of the deep
interest of our government and the people in its success.
I congratulate the citizens of Philadelphia, justly re-
nowned for the Centennial Exposition, which first
demonstrated to the world the marvelous development
of our resources, that to them have been intrusted the
care and completion of this great work.
Well and far-sightedly has this municipality acted in
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 27
creating the new institution as practically a separate
department of its government. With liberal appropria-
tions of money and the gift of a valuable site, the people
of this city, the birthj)lace of American liberty, have
once more demonstrated their patriotic spirit and pur-
pose, calling into fellowship and counsel representatives
of the chief commercial bodies of this continent. The
United States is a grateful debtor to Philadelphia. She
contributed immeasurably to the triumph of liberty ; she
would now aid in the triumphs of labor.
Who can doubt that the deliberations of these able
and public-spirited men, acting together freely and cor-
dially, animated by a common impulse and a common
interest, will result in still closer relations of interna-
tional comity and a higher prosperity for all ?
May God's blessing rest upon this worthy enterprise
and upon those who shall labor for its welfare.
I now declare the Philadelphia Museums formally
opened.
VIII.
Speech at the Banquet given by the Philadelphia
Museums and the Manufacturers' Club at the
Bourse, Philadelphia, June 2, 1897.
Dr. Pepper, Gentlemen of the Manufacturers^ Club, Dele-
gates to the International Convention, Ladies and
Gentlemen :
For the cordiality of your reception I am indeed
grateful, although from my experiences in this great
city it is not altogether surprising and unexpected.
[Applause.]
28 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
A recent visit to your city gave me an opportunity to
feel tlie welcome heart-touch of the people of Philadel-
phia and enjoy their boundless hospitality. [Great
applause.]
I must tell you that from first to last I have been
deeply impressed with the scenes witnessed in this
city to-day : the remarkable spectacle of the repre-
sentatives of all the American republics, with the
products of their skill and their soil in one common
warehouse for comparison and observation, thanks to
Dr. Pepper and the Philadelphia Museums. [Great ap-
plause.]
The first great convention of these republics was
organized by the matchless diplomacy of that splendid
American, James G. Blaine. [Cheers and tremendous
applause.] Seven years ago he brought the govern-
ments of this continent together, and taught the doc-
trine that genuine reciprocity in trade required reci-
procity of information. [Great applause.]
And it was the genius of the many gentlemen I
see around this board to-night that originated the
Bureau of American Republics, located in the capital
city, which has already done much good, and which,
I believe, will yet play an increasingly important part
in our trade relations with the governments supporting
it. [Cheers and applause.]
My fellow-citizens, there is no use in making a prod-
uct if you cannot find somebody to take it. [Applause.]
The maker must find a taker. [Applause.] You will
not employ labor to make a product unless you can find
a buyer for that product after you have made it. [Cheers
and applause.]
I am glad to meet the representatives of the Ameri-
4.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 29
can republics here to-night. I am glad to meet the
representatives of all the governments of the world
here to-night. I have met the manufacturers of Phila-
delphia and the State of Pennsylvania before. [Ap-
plause and laughter.] I met you in the day of your
highest prosperity. [Prolonged cheering.] I now
meet you in this your hour of somewhat prolonged
adversity.
But let me tell you, my countrymen, that resusci-
tation will not be promoted by recrimination. [Ap-
plause.] The distrust of the present will not be
relieved by a distrust of the future. [Applause.] A
patriot makes a better citizen than a pessimist. [Great
applause.] And we have got to be patient. [Ap-
plause.] Much as we want to move out of the old
house, we cannot do it until the new one is finished.
[Cheers and applause.]
A tariff law half made is of no practical use except to
indicate that in a little while a whole tariff law will be
done [applause], and it is making progress [great ap-
plause]. It is reaching the end, and when the end
comes we will have business confidence and industrial
activity. [Renewed applause.] Let us keep steady
heads and steady hearts. [Applause.] The country
is not going backward, but forward. [Applause.] Amer-
ican energy has not been destroyed by the storms of
the past. [Applause.] It will yet triumph through wise
and beneficent legislation. [Great cheering.]
Philadelphians have in the past shown what busy in-
dustries and well-employed labor can do to make a great
city and a contented population. [Applause.] They do
not mean to accept present conditions as permanent
and final. [Cheers.] They will meet embarrass-
30 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
ments as they have bravely met them in the past, and
in the end will restore industries and labor to their
former condition and prosperity. [Great cheering.]
And, gentlemen, Philadelphia is but a type of Ameri-
can pluck and purpose everywhere. [Great and pro-
longed applause.]
IX.
Address at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition,
Nashville, June 11, 1897.
Mr. President, Officers of the Tennessee Centennial Exposi-
tion, Ladies and Gentlemen :
American nationality, compared with that of Europe
and the Orient, is still very young; and yet we are
already beginning to have age enough for centennial
anniversaries in States other than the original thirteen.
Such occasions are always interesting, and when cele-
brated in a practical way, are useful and instructive.
Combining retrospect and review, they recall what has
been done by State and nation, and point out what yet
remains for both to accomplish in order to fulfil their
highest destiny.
This celebration is of general interest to the whole
country, and of special significance to the people of the
South and West. It marks the end of the first century
of the State of Tennessee, and the close of the first year
of its second century.
One hundred and one years ago this State was ad-
mitted into the Union as the sixteenth member in the
great family of American commonwealths. It was a
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 31
welcome addition to the national household— a com-
munity young, strong, and sturdy, with an honored
and heroic ancestry, with fond anticipations not only
of its founders, but faith in its success on the part of
the far-seeing and sagacious statesmen of the time in
all parts of the country. I am justified in saying that
these anticipations have been grandly realized, that the
present of this community of sterling worth is even
brighter than prophets of the past had dared to fore-
cast it.
The builders of the State, who had forced their way
through the trackless forests of this splendid domain,
brought with them the same high ideals and fearless
devotion to home and country, founded on resistance to
oppression, which have everywhere made illustrious the
American character. Whether it was the territory of
Virginia or that of North Carolina mattered little to
them. They came willing and eager to fight for inde-
pendence and liberty, and in the War of the Revolution
were ever loyal to the standard of Washington. When
their representatives served in the Colonial Assembly of
North Carolina they chose — for the first time in our coun-
try, so far as I know— the great name of Washington
for the district in which they lived, and at the close of
the Revolution sought to organize their territory into a
State, to be known as the State of Franklin, in grateful
homage to the name of another of its most distinguished
patriot commoners.
Spain had sought to possess their territory by right of
discovery as a part of Florida. France claimed it by
right of cession as a part of Louisiana, and England as
hers by conquest. But neither contention could for an
instant be recognized. Moved by the highest instincts
32 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
of self-government, guided bj^ conscience and tlie loftiest
motives of patriotism, under gallant old John Sevier, at
King's Mountain, your forefathers bravely vindicated
their honor and gloriously won their independence.
Thus came the new State, second only then of the
now mighty West and Southwest. And it has made a
wonderful history for itself. Tennessee has sometimes
been called the "mother of Southwestern statesmen."
It furnished us the immortal Jackson, whose record in
war and whose administration in peace as the head of
the great republic shine on with the advancing years.
The century has only added to the luster of his name,
increased the obligations of his countrymen, and exalted
him in their affectionate regard. Polk and Johnson also
were products of this great State, and many more heroes
of distinguished deeds, whose names will come unbidden
to your memories while I speak.
Tennesseeans have ever been volunteer, not drafted,
patriots. In 1846, when twenty-four hundred soldiers
were called for, thirty thousand loyal Tennesseeans
offered their services ; and amid the trials and terrors of
the great Civil War, under conditions of pecuUar distress
and embarrassment, her people divided on contending
sides. But upon whichever side found, they fought
fearless of sacrifice or death. Now, happily, there
are no contending sides in this glorious common-
wealth, or in any part of our beloved country. The
men who opposed each other in dreadful battle a
third of a century ago are once more and forever
united in heart and purpose under one flag in a never-
to-be broken Union.
The glory of Tennessee is not alone in the brilliant
names it has contributed to history, or the heroic patriot-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 33
ism displayed by the people in so many crises of our
national life ; but its material and industrial wealth,
social advancement, and population are striking and
significant in their growth and development. Thirty-
five thousand settlers in this State in 1790 had in-
creased to one million one hundred and nine thousand
in 1860, and to-day it has a population closely approxi-
mating two million. Its manufactures, which in 1860
were small and unimportant, in 1890 had reached
seventy-two million dollars in value, while its farm
products now aggregate more than sixty-two million
dollars annually. Its river commerce on three great
international waterways, its splendid railways operating
nearly three thousand miles of road, its mineral wealth
of incalculable value, form a splendid augury for the
future. I am sure no better workmen could be found
than the people of Tennessee to turn these confident
promises into grand realities.
Your exposition shows, better than any words of mine
can tell, the details of your wealth of resources and
power of production. You have done wisely in exhibit-
ing these to your own people and to your sister States,
and at no time could the display be more effective than
now, when what the country needs more than all
else is restored confidence in itself. This exposition
demonstrates directly your own faith and purpose, and
signifies in the widest sense your true and unfailing
belief in the irrepressible pluck of the American people,
and is a promising indication of the return of Ameri-
can prosperity.
The knowledge which this beautiful and novel exposi-
tion gives wiU surely develop your trade, increase your
output, enlarge your fields of employment, promote
34: SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
inventive competition, and extend your markets, and so
eventually pay for all it cost, as Avell as justify local
sentiment and encourage State pride.
Men and women I see about me from all parts of the
country, and thousands more will assemble here before
the exposition is closed. Let us always remember that
whatever differences about politics may have existed, or
still exist, we are all Americans before we are partizans,
and cherish the welfare of all the people above party or
State. Citizens of different States, we yet love all the
States ; and in turn all the States, by ties of interest,
affection, and immortal memories, are attached to the
nation with unfailing and unceasing love.
The lesson of the hour, then, is this: to be faith-
ful to our opportunities in our several spheres, never
forgetting that not one citizen or several citizens have
the sole care of our government, but all the citizens of
all the States are equally responsible for its progress
and preservation, and all are equal recipients of good or
ill. Hopefully looking into the future, let us firmly
resolve that whatever adverse conditions may tempo-
rarily impede our national progress, nothing shall per-
manently stay or defeat it.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 35
X.
Speech to The Vermont Fish and Gajie League, at
Isle La Motte, Vermont, August 6, 1897.
ilfr. Toastmaster and my Fellow- Citizens :
I wisli I had fitting words to respond to this gracious
■welcome and this most generous hospitality. I can only
say I reciprocate the sentiment expressed by the song.
[Cries of " Good ! "] I like Vermont ; I like her people.
I am never in the presence of a New England audience
that I do not recall that the civilization of New England
penetrates every State and Territory of the American
Union ; and I do not forget that wherever New England
civilization is found, loyal and patriotic American men
and women are found.
One of the things I promised myself when I left the
city of Washington was that I would not make a speech.
One of the assurances that I received from the officers
of the Fish and Game League was that I would not be
required to make a speech ; but from what I have heard
of this league I am prepared to believe almost anything
of it. [Applause.]
As Americans we have a right to rejoice in our glorious
civilization. I say to Vermonters and say to all New
England that to them this country owes much— more
than it can ever repay — for the self-governing principle
they have sent through all the States of the Union.
[Great applause.]
36 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XI.
Remarks at Proctor, Vermont, August 12, 1897.
Fellow-Citizens :
It gives me great pleasure to respond for a moment to
the cordial welcome which you have given me this even-
ing. I recall with the greatest satisfaction my visit to
this place five years ago, and I am glad to renew your
acquaintance here to-night. I am glad to see about me
so many, not only of the men and women, but of the
boys and girls of Proctor. There is in it all the sug-
gestion of the family, where virtue prevails— the greatest
of all virtues, the home virtue, upon which is founded
our free institutions. I trust we may always preserve
the purity of our American homes. From this comes
good citizenship, and from it I see the glory of our
country. I am glad to enjoy the entertainment of your
distinguished feUow-citizen and my friend [Senator
Proctor], and to renew my friendship with you. [Great
applause.]
XII.
Speech to Assemblage at Railway-Station,
Syracuse, New York, August 24, 1897.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
I am extremely pleased to visit your city, and I appre-
ciate your generous welcome. This is a year when in a
very marked degree patriotism is being exalted and
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 37
patriots are being honored. In the month of April, in
the city of New York, the people of that metropolis
dedicated a magnificent mausoleum to that greatest of
all the great soldiers of the Civil War, General Ulysses
S. Grant. [Great applause.] In May following, in the
city of Philadelphia, there was unveiled an equestrian
statue to that greatest soldier of the Revolution, General
George Washington [great applause] ; and only a few
days ago, in the inland metropolis in the State of Illinois,
there was unveiled a superb monument to that great
volunteer soldier, the hero of two wars. General John A.
Logan. [Great applause.] This week the Empire State
of New York is laying at the feet of the largest patri-
otic body in the world its tribute of affection for the
conspicuous services rendered in the Civil War by the
Grand Army of the Republic. [Great applause.] We
cannot exalt patriotism too highj we cannot too much
encourage love of country; for, my fellow-citizens, as
long as patriotism exists in the hearts of the American
people, so long will our matchless institutions be secure
and permanent. [Great applause.]
XIII.
Remarks prom Balcony of Hotel at Buffalo,
New York, August 24, 1897.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I come to greet you and to thank you at the same time
for your generous welcome. The Grand Army of the
Republic seems to be on foot to-day, but not carrying
arms. These were long since laid aside, and the Grand
Army of the Republic is to-day dedicated to peace and
38 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
the Union forever. I am glad to be in the city of Buf-
falo with my comrades of 'Gl and '65, and my comrades
now. [Great applause.]
XIV.
Speech at Banquet of Ellicott Club, Buffalo,
New York, August 24, 1897.
Mr. Toastmaster and Comrades and my FeUow-Citizens :
I wish I might frame fitting words to make suitable
response to the more than gi'acious welcome which
you have accorded me here to-night. I come with no
set form of speech, I come with no studied phrases to
present to you, but in the spirit of comradeship [great
applause], to talk with you as we have often talked in
the past, around the camp-fires in war as well as the
camp-fires in peace. [Applause.] To me, I see by the
program, has been assigned the toast, ''The Country
and its Defenders." My fellow-citizens, blessed is that
country whose defenders are patriots. [Applause.]
Blessed is that country whose soldiers fight for it and
are willing to give the best they have, the best that any
man has,— their own lives,— to preserve it, because they
love it. [Applause.] Such an army the United States
has always commanded in every crisis of its history.
[Applause.] From the War of the Revolution to the
late Civil War, the men followed that flag in battle, be-
cause they loved it and believed in what it represented.
[Applause.] That was the stuif of which the volunteer
army of '61 was made. [Applause.] Every one of them
not only fought, but thought. [Applause.] And many
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 39
of tliem did their own thinking [laughter and applause],
and did not always agree with their commanders.
[Laughter and applause.]
You recall that young soldier in the late war, upon the
battle-line, ahead with the color-guard, bearing the Stars
and Stripes way in front of the line, but the enemy still
in front of him. The general called out to the color-bearer,
" Bring those colors back to the line " ; and, quicker than
any bullet, the young soldier answered back, " Bring
the line up to the colors." [Prolonged applause.]
It was the voice of command; there was a man be-
hind it, and there was patriotism in his heart.
And so more than two million brave men thus re-
sponded, and made up an army grander than any army
that ever shook the earth with its tread [applause], and
engaged in as holy a cause as soldiers ever fought
for. [Applause.] What defenders, my countrymen,
have we now ? We have the remnant of this old, magnif-
icent, matchless army of which I have been speaking,
and then, as allies in any future war, we have the brave
men who fought against us on Southern battle-fields.
[Great applause.]
/■ The army of Grant and the army of Lee are together.
[Applause.] They are one now in faith, in hope, in fra-
ternity, in purpose, and in an invincible patriotism.
[Applause.] And, therefore, the country is in no danger.
[Applause.] In justice strong, in peace secure, and in
devotion to the flag all one. [Great applause.] /
40 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XV.
Speech at G. A. R. Ca]mp-Fire, Asbury Church,
Buffalo, New York, August 24, 1897.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
The saddest part of the reunion of the old soldiers of
the army is that at every annual encampment we miss
many familiar faces. Our comrades are diminishing
with the passing years ; the circle is narrowing, and
every annual roll-call discloses one and still another not
present, but accounted for. They have gone from
human sight ; they have passed from association with
us here ; they have gone to join the great majority of
that army with which they were so long associated, and
they sleep to-night upon another shore. Grant has
gone, Sherman and Sheridan and Thomas and McPher-
son and Logan, and a long list besides, rich in precious
memories. And not only have the great commanders
gone, but the rank and file of that splendid army have
joined their old commanders on the other shore. It is
our duty, it is our business, to perpetuate their mem-
ories; to preserve and improve and strengthen and
glorify the institutions for which they fought and for
which they gave their lives.
I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this moment
that you have given me to pay my respects to that noble
army of volunteers. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 41
XVI.
Speech at G. A. R. Caivip-Fire, Delaware Avenue
M. E. Church, Buffalo, New York, August 24,
1897.
Gentlemen :
I have come to this presence to-night that I might
pay my respects to my old comrades, and lay at their
feet my tribute of love and appreciation.
It has been thirty-six years since the beginning of
the great Civil War, and thirty-two years since its close.
It seems not so long nor so far away, and when we re-
member that more than a million of the soldiers of that
war still survive, and that in this noble city to-night are
representatives of that grand army that fought for hu-
man liberty in as noble a cause as any in which mankind
ever engaged, it seems almost impossible that we are a
third of a century from the close of the great struggle.
When the war commenced we had no conception of its
length, and we had less conception of the great results
which were to follow from that struggle. We thought
that the Union to be saved was the Union as it was,
forgetting that wars and revolutions cannot be pre-
scribed and the circle of their influence determined in
advance. Nobody believed — I mean of the great mass
of the people — that with the end of that war would be the
end of human slavery. But not from men was our
issue ; from Him who is a sovereign of land and of
sea came our ordeal of battle, that men might be free.
And as the result of that great civil struggle we have
42 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
the greatest government because we have the freest gov-
ernment, and we have the freest government because we
have an equal government, governed equally by equal
citizens everywhere. [Applause.] And it is the busi-
ness of the living, it is the business of the citizen, it is
the business of the men and the women in every part of
our common country, to cultivate the highest and best
citizenship ; for upon it rests the destiny of our govern-
ment. [Applause.]
I must be excused, my fellow-citizens, from attempting
to do more at this time than to express my gratification
at being permitted to mingle again with the old soldiers
of the war, and to congratulate them that they have
assembled this year in the city of Buifalo, which is giving
to them such boundless hospitality. [Great applause.]
XVII.
Speech at the Reunion of the Twenty-third Ohio
Regbient, at Fremont, Ohio, Septejmber 2, 1897.
Mr. President, my Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen :
I am glad to meet my fellow-citizens of my native
State that I love so well and which has so much and so
long honored me. [Cheers.] I am glad to meet with
you in the city of Fremont, about the hearthstone of our
old commander, now gone, whom we all loved so much.
[Cheers.] On behalf of my comrades of the Twenty-
third Ohio I want to thank the mayor and the people
of the city for the gracious hospitality they have given
us to-day.
My comrades, the memories of the war are sweeter
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 43
tlian ser\dce in the war. [Laiighter.] It is a good deal
pleasanter and very much safer to fight onr battles o'er
as we are doing to-day than it was to fight them from
'CI to '65. But we could not have had these glorious
memories if we had not rendered the service— a service
rendered in freedom's cause, and for a country that is
forever saved. We had a good regiment, but there
were nearly two hundred good regiments from our good
State [cheers], and there were two million men and
upward just like you from all of the Northern States
and Territories of the Union, who were willing to do
and die for the government and for the flag. [Cheers.]
We had a good regiment ; first, because we had good
private soldiers, and second, because we had good
commanders. Every one of our ten companies was
well officered. And then, think of the field- and staif-
officers that the Twenty-third Regiment had— no better
anywhere in the service. That great tactician, that
magnificent disciplinarian, that leader of armies. General
William S. Rosecrans. [Cheers.] God bless him ! Let
that be our prayer here to-day as our love goes out to
him in his distant home in California.
And so officers and men made the Twenty-third a
splendid regiment. But it was the rank and file of
that regiment that, after all, gave it its glory. This
old flag [pointing to the regimental flag which stood
before him] was never shot down that a hundred
men did not fly to pick it up and lift it aloft. [Cheers.]
You did your duty; that is all that anybody can do.
The Union soldiers all did theii* duty. That is honor
enough, but the glory of it is that we have a reunited, a
recreated country. [Cheers.] That is the price of your
sacrifice ; and to-day, instead of liaving sectional divi-
44 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
sions beneath this flag, we have none. They are all
obliterated, and the men who fought for this flag and
the men who opposed it, on the many battle-fields of
the South, are now forever united in faith and friend-
ship for its defense. [Cheers.]
No man can look on this great American audience
to-day and not feel that the country's institutions are
safe. There is a flag in the hand of every child, and
patriotism in every man's heart. [Cheers.]
But, my fellow-citizens, it is not the business of the
presiding oflicer to make a speech, I have already
talked to you too long. We have an army— most of
them retired, it is true— of distinguished orators on
this platform here to-day. I have the very great
pleasure now of presenting to this audience an old
comrade, a distinguished soldier, commanding a Michi-
gan regiment, once the commander-in-chief of the
Grand Army of the Republic (the most patriotic body
on earth), the present Secretary of War, General RusseU
A. Alger. [Applause.]
XVIII.
Speech at State Fair, Coltoibus, Ohio,
September 3, 1897.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
It is almost a hopeless task to undertake to make
myself heard by this assemblage. After more than
eighteen months of absence from the capital city of
my State, it is peculiarly gratifying to me to return to
these beautiful agricultural grounds to meet my old
friends and fellow-citizens, with whom, for so many
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 45
years, I have been associated. If I had been asked to
select a greeting most agreeable to myself, it would
have been that greeting which the committee has pre-
pared of the children of the schools of the State assem-
bled on these grounds to-day. [Applause.]
The presence of forty thousand school-children com-
mands our affection and inspires our hope ; and I con-
gratulate the children of Ohio that they enjoy ex-
ceptional opportunities for education at the hands of
the government of the State. No other State has higher
common-school advantages than the State of Ohio ; and
it is gratifying to remember that half a milHon children
every day in our State crowd the door-steps of our public
schools in search of knowledge to fit them for the grave
and responsible duties of life.
There is one thing of which the United States can
proudly boast, and that is our great public-school system,
where the boys and girls from every walk of life assemble
in full equality and enjoy equally with all their fellows
all the advantages of public instruction.
I am glad to meet these school-children to-day.
Children's day it is to you now, but in a little while it
will be citizens' day with all of you. Upon you in a
little while will rest the duty as well as the responsibility
of carrying on the great political fabric established by
the fathers, and bearing the banner they have so
proudly borne in the past. [Great applause.]
God bless the school-children of Ohio ! God bless
the school-children of America, and guide them to in-
telligence and virtue and morality and patriotism ; and
with these elements dominating our citizenship, our
institutions are safe and our republic will be glorious
forever. [Great applause.]
46 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XIX.
Speech at Akron, Ohio, Septeiviber 4, 1897.
3Iy Fellow-Citisens :
I could not for a moment think of having you all so
far away from me when you are all so near my heart.
It seems like coming back home to come to the city of
Akron. For more than twenty years I have enjoyed
the friendship and confidence of the people of this city
and of the county of Summit. I am glad to be with
you here, if only for a moment, that I may look into
your happy and hopeful faces. On this very spot I
have seen great assemblages of my fellow-citizens. I
have been welcomed by you many times in the past,
but no welcome you have ever given me was so
grateful to my heart as the one here to-day.
We are all of us Americans. We are all of us for our
country, for its prosperity and its glory ; and, in the
short time I have allotted to me, I can only wish for all
of you health and peace and happiness, the realization
of your highest aspirations, and that your industry and
thrift may have their greatest rewards. [Great applause.]
XX.
Remarks at Canton, Ohio, September 4, 1897.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
I do not know what I can say to this great concourse
of my fellow-townsmen, except that I am glad to be with
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 4?
you once more, to look into these familiar faces and to
hear the music of this band that is a credit and a de-
light not only to the city of Canton, but to all the cities
and communities which it visits.
It gave me peculiar pleasure to hear this band and to
hear of it words of commendation from all quarters.
I am glad, my fellow-citizens, to be at home again. I
am glad for this manifestation of your good will. [Great
applause.]
XXI.
Rejiarks to the Lesicoln Club, Sojierset,
Pennsylvania, September 9, 1897.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
I am both pleased and honored to meet my friends of
Somerset County, and to acknowledge the gracious com-
pliment of this call and serenade on the part of the
Lincoln Club of Somerset. [Cheers.] I am glad to meet
my countrymen, irrespective of party [cheers], for all of
us are interested in the welfare, prosperity, and gran-
deur of our common country. [Cheers.]
I wish for all of you happiness in your lives and in
your homes, prosperity in the occupations which may
engage you, and with all of you I wish for the progress
and glory of the United States. [Loud cheers.]
After home, our first concern is country, and our coun-
try, with its splendid institutions and its great possi-
bilities, is safe so long as virtue resides in the home and
patriotism abides in the hearts of the people. [Pro-
longed applause.]
48 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XXII.
Ee^viarks at the Eeception op R. p. Ctobuns Post,
G. A. R., Sojvierset, Pennsylvania, September 10,
1897.
Comrades :
Nothing can be more grateful to me than to receive
this honor and compliment from my old comrades of the
war. I never look into the faces of the old soldiers who
braved the dangers of that time that I am not touched
deeply, and it gives me peculiar pleasure to meet and
greet those gathered here to-night. I shall be glad to
shake the hand of each one of you, if it be your wish.
I discover that the population of Somerset is constantly
increasing. [Laughter and applause.]
XXIII.
Speech at the Hoosac Valley Agricultural Soci-
ety Fair, North Adabis, Massachusetts, September
22, 1897.
My FeUoiv-Citizens :
This unexpected incident of my visit to the Berkshii'e
HiUs is especially gratifying to me, because it gives me
the pleasure and opportunity of meeting the people of
Massachusetts and expressing in their presence my re-
gard for them and their noble State. [Applause.]
A great State is a valued inlieritance, all the more
^^k^^A^k^
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 49
when it has for its support an illustrious past. This
you have in as great measure as any commonwealth in
the Union. [Applause.] No other has a prouder his-
tory; no other carries more priceless memories; no
other commands greater respect and veneration.
Loving liberty, and enjoying its blessed privileges
yourselves, you have not been unmindful of others,
but have greatly aided in securing it for those less
fortunate. [Applause.] You have been a mighty force
in the upbuilding and progress of the republic from
the beginning, and your influence has been unfailing
for all that is good in government and all that is
exalted in citizenship. [Great applause.]
The New England home is no longer confined to
New England. It has been established in every part of
the country, and from it go out good thoughts and
deeds, good men and women, helpful in sustaining our
glorious fabric of government, and advancing justice,
liberty, and peace among men. [Applause.] God bless
and prosper the American home and the American
people ! Upon these rest the strength and virtue and
permanence of the nation, which we pray our heavenly
Father to ever have in his sacred keeping.
XXIV.
Rejiarks at Pittsfield, Massachusetts,
Septe^iber 2i, 1897.
Mr. Mayor and Fellow- Citizens :
I desire to express my appreciation of the gi'acious
welcome which you have given me as I journeyed
50 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
through your city on my way to Lenox. One of the
most gratifying conditions to be found to-day is that
feeling of amity and friendship and fraternity exist-
ing in all sections of our country. These boys and
these girls, whom I see around me in such vast numbers,
must in a little while take upon themselves the duty
of citizenship. We have to-day a Union stronger and
better and firmer than it ever was before, and if these
young people continue the morality and virtue practised
in their youth, I know they will be prepared to carry
forward this great Union to still greater glories. [Great
applause.]
XXV.
Speech on the Occasion of the Laying of the
Corner-Stone of the Memorial and Library
Building, Adajvis, Massachusetts, October 1, 1897.
Mr. Commander, my Comrades and Felloiv-Citisens :
It has given me very great pleasure to participate with
the citizens of Adams in this memorial service, which
will ever be remembered by the people of this town, be-
cause it is intended to perpetuate patriotism and is their
testimony to patriotic devotion. You have authorized
the erection of this statue that you may commemorate
the services and sacrifices of the brave men who went
out from this community more than thirty years ago,
willing to give the best they had and all they had that
the Union might be preserved, and the flag continue to
float in honor. Every memorial building erected to the
soldiers of the war is a monument to duty well done,
and is a lesson in patriotism to the generations that are
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 51
to follow. I rejoice with you to-day that the men for
whom this mouument is to be builded did not die in
vain; that the Union for which they fought and for
which they fell is stronger, grander, and more enduring
than ever ; and it is with you, with the living and those
who are to come after — it is for them to carry forward
this government, and lift it to still greater achieve-
ments. [Great applause.]
XXVI.
Rejiarks in the Chamber of Coimimerce,
Cestcinnati, October 29, 1897.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It gives me very sincere pleasure to be greeted once
more by this representative body of business men, the
Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. Of the many
things that are gratifying to us in this country of ours,
nothing gives me greater pleasure than the unity of
feeling and the fraternal spirit everywhere manifested
—in the North and in the South. Love of countrv,
attachment to our free institutions, are everywhere
apparent.
But I am here not to speak, but to meet the public,
which it will give me great pleasure to do. [Great ap-
plause.]
52 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XXVII.
Speech at the Dinner of the Co]\oiercial Club
OF Cincinnati, Saturday, October 30, 1897.
Members of the Commercial Club and Guests :
Appreciating the purposes of tlie Commercial Club, I
account myself fortunate to be its guest to-night, with
the privilege of meeting old and valued friends, whose
support and confidence have encouraged me and still
encourage me in the performance of public duty, Cin-
cinnati has for me the pleasantest associations and
memories, and I may be pardoned if I have a feeling of
home-coming as I stand in this presence in the chief
city of the State where I was born, receiving your warm
welcome, and knowing it to be sincere.
There is even more that is gi'atifying to me in this
assemblage, because it represents men of aU parties
and creeds, united in a common aim, and a most
worthy one — that of promoting good government and
disseminating those ideas which will best insure the
honor and prosperity of the country. We gain by in-
telligent discussion of public questions carried on, in an
organization like yours, not from a standpoint of par-
tizanship, but of good citizenship.
What will make the nation strongest and best ; what
will make its citizenship the most useful and effective in
government? These are inquiries ever pressing for
answer with every thoughtful man. What will arouse
public and private conscience to the just appreciation of
our civic obHgations is the vital creed of your organiza-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 53
tion and the deep concern of ns all. Nothing makes
more for the government than intelligent and virtuous
citizenship. It is the foundation of governmental suc-
cess, and is essential to the highest destiny of the re-
public. It should start in the home and be taught in
the schools. It should have the inspii'ation of example
in public and private stations. The public officer should
illustrate it in his life and show it in the administration
of his public duties.
One great element in the strength of any government
is the patriotism of its people, theii* love for its institu-
tions, their pride for its name and achievements. This
element finds a field for exceptional development in the
United States. We have everything to inspire good
citizenship, because we have equal and responsible citi-
zenship. Responsible citizenship comes from direct
participation in the conduct of the government, and
imposes equal responsibility upon every citizen. If we
could quicken and increase appreciation of this responsi-
bility, and every citizen were made to feel its weight and
importance, it would go far toward improving our
political and national life.
The government and people are inseparable under our
system. We could not separate the government from
the people if we would, and we would not if we could.
This unity is the strength of our political structure.
Our public policies and our public laws are properly
determined by the people. The peojjle, therefore, have
every incentive to noble purpose and right action in
government. They are the beneficiaries of the govern-
ment, and have every reason to love our institutions and
regard our laws, because they make and support them.
There is no greater enemy to free government than
54 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
careless and indifferent citizenship ; there is no better
friend than the vigilant, enlightened, and patriotic
citizen.
Not only are we interested in these fundamental ele-
ments which constitute the national strength, but we
have a deep interest in the material development of the
country. No subject can better engage our attention
than the promotion of trade and commerce at home
and abroad. Domestic conditions are sure to be im-
proved by larger exchanges with the nations of the
world. We are ah-eady reaching out with good results.
Our surplus products of agriculture and manufacture
are finding a foreign market, and in the latter case to a
degree which would not have been beheved possible a
quarter of a century ago. We have made wonderful
progress in this direction, and have only just begun.
Our manufactured products go to every nation of the
world, and I hope the time may be not far distant when
our ships, under the Stars and Stripes, will be on every
sea where commerce is carried and the wants of man-
kind are to be supplied.
Commerce is a teacher and a pacificator. It gives
mankind knowledge one of another. Reciprocity of
trade promotes reciprocity of friendship. Good trade
insures good will. The heart as well as the mind con-
tributes directly to the progress of mankind, and wher-
ever we secure just and fair commercial relations with
other nations we are sure to have with them friendly
political relations.
Abating none of our interest in the home market, let
us move out to new fields steadily and increase the sale
for our products in foreign markets. It should be our
settled purpose to open trade wherever we can, making
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 55
our ships and om- commerce messengers of peace and
amity.
The consular service of the government should be
closely scrutinized and carefully officered, and we should
have at every commercial port of the world a sensible
and practical American who, while discharging all his
other duties with honor to the government, will not omit
in every proper way to promote American exchanges
and' encourage reciprocal trade.
Finally, if we are entering upon an era of prosperity \
such as many believe and all fervently hope for, re- \
membering our recent panic and financial experiences,
we should strengthen the weak places in our financial
system, and remove it forever from ambiguity and doubt.
XXVIII.
Speech to the Comimercial Travelers' Association
AND ElVIPLOYEES OF DUEBER HEIGHTS, CaNTON, OhIO,
NOVEIVIBER 1, 1897.
Oentlemen of the Commercial Travelers' Association, and
Employees of Bueher Heights, and my Fellow-Citizens :
It gives me great pleasure to be back at my old home
again, and to receive at the hands of my fellow-citizens
the warm and cordial and, I am sure, heartfelt welcome
with which they greet me to-night. I am glad to
be assured by the spokesmen who have addressed me
that these for whom they speak give approval to the
national administration with which I have been asso-
ciated by the partiality of your suffrages given last year.
[Applause.]
56 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
I assure yon, my fellow-citizens, that when I entered
upon my public duties I had but one aim, but one
purpose— the good of my country and the welfare of my
countrymen. [Applause.]
And nothing could be more gratifying to me, nothing
could be more encoui'aging to me, nothing could stimu-
late me to greater effort, than to be assured by fellow-
citizens, as I have been assured by them to-night, that
they are now employed and have steady work. [Pro-
longed cheering.]
I am deeply interested in the prosperity of my home
city, and the greater the prosperity the greater wiU be
my satisfaction. [Applause.]
I will detain you in this inclement weather only long
enough to assure you that from my heart I thank you
for this generous welcome. [Great cheering.]
XXIX.
Address at the Carnegie Library, Pittsburg,
Wednesday, Novejiber 3, 1897.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It is a great pleasure for me now, as always, to visit
Pittsburg, one of the great cities of a commonwealth
closely in touch with my native State of Ohio, and its
near neighbor, in whose borders I have so frequently and
cordially been received. The people of the two communi-
ties know one another well, and exemplify, as perfectly
as can be found anywhere in the Union, that spirit of
fraternal regard and free interchange of ideas and
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 57
products whicli forms the very essence and glory of
the American system of government.
But to-day I have not come, as has often been the
case, to discuss economic questions, but rather as an
interested observer to witness in person and testify to
that great and successful undertaking made possible by
the munificence of one of your best-known citizens and
the generous neighbors whom he has interested in his
work. They have conferred upon the municipahty of
Pittsburg the proud privilege of being noted not simply
as one of the greatest industrial centers of the country,
but hereafter to rank as one of the great literary, art,
musical, and educational cities of the United States.
But more than this and infinitely better : what has been
done here, and all that still remains for the present and
future generations to accomplish in perfecting this noble
library and its allied branches of culture and enjoyment,
is not planned simply for the select few, but the too
often neglected many ; not for a favored class, but for
the people and all of the people. All who love know-
ledge, who ^ enjoy art, who believe in progress, whose
aspirations are upward, are here welcome, and wiU find
themselves at liberty to follow their chosen pursuits in
response to the founder's inscription that his donation
is and shall be "Free to the People." For such was
this temple reared, magnificent in its proportions and of
classic beauty, with a liberality of equipment and man-
agement second to none either in the Old World or the
New; and it will confer increasing and inestimable
blessings not only upon this city and upon this State,
but upon all the people of our country in all the years
to come. It is a monument to the industry for which
this city is justly famous, and the advice which I would
58 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
leave with you and whicli I would have you always
remember is— use it !
For this splendid movement for the welfare of the
people, richer and more varied in its treasures to man-
kind than we can now conceive, all of its departments
of activity gathered together under one roof and con-
ducted by a single, united, enthusiastic management,
open to every student or citizen thirsting for knowledge,
it is not too much to say that every man, woman, and
child in this community is already under a heavy debt
of gratitude which they can best discharge and only fit-
tingly repay by availing themselves fully and freely of
its blessings and benefits. The city itself, following the
inspiring example of other great municipalities, has
done wisely even from the standpoint of self-interest
in adojiting the great library as a child of its corporate
existence, so that every citizen, from the humblest to the
most exalted, has a stake in its permanence and prosper-
ity, forming a part of his life and contributing to its
welfare.
The free man cannot be long an ignorant man. The
aspiration for knowledge is the corner-stone for learning
and liberty. With true culture— not feigned or proud
— comes goodness of heart, refinement of manners, gen-
erosity of impulse, the Christian desire of helping others,
and the Christian character of charity to all. Library
study, musical instruction, the cultivation of art, and
the serious contemplation of the wonders of nature in
rare museum collections, are a source of delight and
instruction to patrons and visitors, and they help to
make a better citizenship, and in so doing constitute an
impregnable bulwark for law and order.
One of the most gratifying assurances which have come
/
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 59
to me during my brief visit to this library to-day is that
the real intentions of its promoters are already being
realized beyond their highest expectations. Scarcely
four years have passed since the work was begun, yet
the people of Pittsburg have again and again demon-
strated that they are worthy of the princely generosity,
and are justifying the faith and purpose of those who
bestowed it by making this a real help to higher and
broader attainments.
In no other nation could such a realization have been
possible in so short a time. Europe and the Orient have,
to be sure, their great libraries, rich galleries, wonderful
museums, historical collections, and rare and ancient
buildings of imposing grandeur, exquisite in architec-
tural beauty and rejoicing in an ample financial endow-
ment. Many of these contain priceless treasures of the
ages, whose loss the world could never replace. They
serve a noble purpose, they have enriched art, and will
continue an inspiration to students of all lands. But
none of them had such an advanced beginning as this.
It is ever to the West, and more especially to our own
wonderful country, that we must turn with amazement
and increasing pride to witness the most rapid and
triumphant march of progress, not only in the develop-
ment of material resources, but in the comparative
advancement and appreciation of the fine arts.
Be not content with what you have or are. Continue
the enterprise with the enthusiasm you have begun it.
Be true to the best ideas of this great undertaking. Do
not forget its main purpose. Make it useful to the
community, yourselves, and your children. Let it be an
object of special honor and concern to your city. You
have my congratulations upon the result of your
60 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
labors and my best -wislies for the continuance of their
success.
I am glad to be here to-day. I have enjoyed meeting
with you. It is an honor to participate in any enter-
prise which exalts our countrymen, which inspires them
to higher endeavor and affords them greater oppor-
tunity for culture and advancement. Everj'- move-
ment for the edification and uplifting of tlie people is
a factor in human destiny and a mighty force in our
civihzation. May the favor of God accompany this and
all such undertakings !
XXX.
Speech at the Banquet of the National Associa-
tion OF Manufacturers of the United States,
AT the Waldorf- Astoria, New York, January 27,
1898.
Mr. Toastmasfer, Mewibers of the National Association of
Manufacturers, and Guests :
For the cordial character of this greeting I return my
grateful thanks. The genuineness of your welcome is
full compensation for ha\dng left .Washington at an
unusually busy season in order to participate in this
interesting meeting.
I scarcely need remind you that we do not meet as
strangers. Neither your business organization nor your
social reunions are altogether unfamiliar to me. I have
been with you before, not a guest, as now, but rather
in the capacity of host. I recall that, as governor of the
State of Ohio, it was my pleasure to welcome you to the
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 61
city of Cincinnati on January 22, 1895, at tlie initial
convention of the Manufacturers' Association. I well,
remember the occasion. It was a cold day. You had
lost everything but your pluck, or thought you had.
Courage was the only friend your grief could call its
own. I note with satisfaction your improved appearance
now. You are more cheerful in countenance, more
buoyant in spirit, more hopeful in manner, and more
confident in purpose. Then, too, there are more of you
here than there were at your first meeting. Distances
are of course the same, but traveling has been resumed.
Your speeches and resolutions at that first convention
were directed mainly to the question of how to regain
what you had lost in the previous years, or, if that
was found impossible, then how to stop further loss.
But your object now, as I gather it, is to go out and
possess what you have never had before. You want to
extend, not your notes, but your business. I sym-
pathized with your purposes then ; I am in full accord
with your intentions now.
I ventured to say at the gathering referred to, as re-
ported in your published proceedings, speaking both for
your encouragement and from a profound conviction :
This gi'eat country cannot be permanently kept in a state of
relapse. I believe we will reoccupy the field temporarily lost to
ns, and go out to the peaceful conquest of new and greater fields
of trade and commerce. The recovery will come slowly, perhaps,
but it will come, and when it does we will be steadier and will
better know how to avoid exposure hereafter.
I have abated none of the faith I then expressed, and
you seem to have regained yours.
National policies can encourage industry and com-
merce, but it remains for the people to project and carry
62 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
them on. If these policies stimulate industrial develop-
ment and energy, the people can be safely trusted to do
the rest. The government, however, is restricted in its
power to promote industry. It can aid commerce, but
not create it. It can widen and deepen its rivers, im-
prove its harbors, and develop its great national water-
ways ; but the ships to sail and the traffic to carry, the
people must supply. The government can raise reve-
nues by taxation in such a way as will discriminate in
favor of domestic enterprises, but it cannot establish
them. It can make commercial treaties opening to our
manufacturers and agricultui-alists the ports of other na-
tions. It can enter into reciprocal arrangements to
exchange our products with those of other countries.
It can aid our merchant marine by encouraging our
people to build ships of commerce. It can assist in
every lawful manner private enterprise to unite the two
oceans with a great canal. It can do all these things,
and ought to do them; but with all this accomplished
the result will still be ineffectual unless supplemented
by the energy, enterprise, and industry of the people.
It is they who must build and operate the factories,
furnish the ships and cargoes for the canal and the rivers
and the seas. It is they who must find the consumers
and obtain trade by going forth to win it.
Much profitable trade is still unenjoyed by our people
because of their present insufficient facilities for reach-
ing desirable markets. Much of it is lost because of a
lack of information and ignorance of the conditions and
needs of other nations. We must know just what other
people want before we can supply their wants. We
must understand exactly how to reach them with least
expense if we would enter into the most advantageous
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 63
business relations with them. The ship requires the
shipper ; but the shipper must have assured promise that
his goods will have a sale when they reach their destina-
tion. It is a good rule, if buyers will not come to us,
for us to go to them. It is our duty to make American
enterprise and industrial ambition, as well as achieve-
ment, terms of respect and praise, not only at home, but
among the family of nations the world over.
There is another duty resting upon the national gov-
ernment—"to coin money and regulate the value
thereof." This duty requires that our government shall
regulate the value of its money by the highest stan-
dards of commercial honesty and national honor. The
money of the United States is and must forever be un-
questioned and unassailable. If doubts remain, they
must be removed. If weak places are discovered, they
must be strengthened. Nothing should ever tempt us—
nothing ever will tempt us— to scale down the sacred
debt of the nation through a legal technicality. What-
ever may be the language of the contract, the United
States will discharge all of its obligations in the cur-
rency recognized as the best throughout the civilized
world at the times of payment.
Nor will we ever consent that the wages of labor or
its frugal savings shall be scaled down by permitting
payment in dollars of less value than the dollars accepted
as the best in every enlightened nation of the earth.
Under existing conditions our citizens cannot be ex-
cused if they do not redouble their efforts to secure
such financial legislation as will place their honorable
intentions beyond dispute. All those who represent, as
you do, the great conservative but progressive business
interests of the country, owe it not only to themselves,
64 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
but to tlie people, to insist upon the settlement of this
great question now, or else to face the alternative that
it must be again submitted for arbitration at the polls.
This is our plain duty to inore than seven million voters
who, fifteen months ago, won a great political battle on
the issue, among others, that the United States govern-
ment would not permit a doubt to exist anywhere con-
cerning the stability and integrity of its currency, or the
inviolability of its obligations of every kind. That is my
interpretation of that victor^'. Whatever effort, there-
fore, is required to make the settlement of this vital
question clear and conclusive for all time, we are bound
in good conscience to undertake and, if possible, realize.
That is our commission— our present charter from the
people.
It will not suffice for citizens nowadays to say simply
that they are in favor of sound money. That is not
enough. The people's pui-pose must be given the vital-
ity of public law. Better an honest effort with failiu-e
than the avoiding of so plain and commanding a duty.
The difficulties in the path of a satisfactory reform
are, it must be admitted, neither few in number nor
slight in degree ; but progress cannot fail to be made
with a fair and thorough trial. An honest attempt will
be the best proof of sincerity of purpose. Let us have
full and free discussion. It cannot hurt, it will only help
the cause. We are the last to avoid or evade it. Intelli-
gent discussion will strengthen the indifferent and en-
courage the friends of a stable system of finance.
Half-heartedness never won a battle. Nations and
parties without abiding principles and stern resolution
to enforce them, even if it costs a continuous struggle
to do so, and temporary sacrifice, are never in the high-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 65
est degree successful leaders in the j^rogress of mankind.
For us to attempt nothing in the face of the prevalent
fallacies and the constant effort to spread them is to lose
valuable ground already won, and practically to weaken
the forces of sound money for their battles of the future.
The financial plank of the St. Louis platform is still
as commanding upon Republicans and those who served
with them in the last campaign as on the day it was
adopted and promulgated. Happily the tariff part of
that platform has already been ingrafted into public
statute. But that other plank, not already buHded into
our legislation, is of binding force upon all of us. What
is it ? It is sometimes well to consult our chart. What
was the proclamation of 1896 ?
The Eepublican party is unreservedly for sound money. It
caused the enactment of a law providing for the resumption of
specie payments in 1879 ; since then every dollar has been as good
as gold.
"We are unalterably opposed to every measure calculated to
debase our currency or impair the credit of our country. We are
therefore opposed to the free coinage of silver except by interna-
tional agreement with the leading commercial nations of the
earth, which agreement we pledge om-selves to promote ; and imtil
such agreement can be obtained the existing gold standard must be
maintained. All our silver and paper currency must be maintained
at parity with gold ; and we favor all measures designed to main-
tain inviolable the obligations of the United States, and all our
money, whether coin or paper, at the present standard, the stan-
dard of the most enlightened nations of the earth.
This is in reality a command from the people who
gave the administration to the party now in power, and
who are still anxiously waiting for the execution of
their free and omnipotent will by those of us who hold
commissions from that supreme tribunal.
5
66 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
I have to-night spoken in a somewhat serious strain
because I believe it is due both to the membership of
this association and to the conditions under which this
assemblage has met. The conferences and systematic
efforts of such a body of men as this are capable of
infinite good to the respective communities in which the
members live, and to the nation at large.
The country is now emerging from trying conditions.
It is only just beginning to recover from the depression
in certain lines of business, long continued and alto-
gether unparalleled. Progress, therefore, will naturally
be slow, but let us not be impatient. Rather let us exer-
cise a just patience, and one which in time will surely
bring its own high reward.
I have no fear for the future of our beloved country.
While I discern in its present condition the necessity that
always exists for the faithful devotion of its citizens,
the history of its past is assurance to me that its course
will be as it al;ways has been through every struggle and
emergency, still onward and upward. It has never suf-
fered from any trial or been unequal to any test.
Founded upon right principles, and ever faithful to
them, we have nothing to fear from the vicissitudes
which may lie across our pathway. The nation, founded
by the fathers upon principles of virtue, morality, edu-
cation, freedom, and human rights, molded by the great
discussions which established its sovereignty, tried in
the crucible of civil war, its integrity confirmed by the
results of reconstruction, with a Union stronger and
mightier and better than ever before, stands to-day, not
upon shifting sands, but upon immovable foundations.
Let us resolve, by our laws and by our administration
of them, to maintain the rights of the citizen ; to cement
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 67
the Union by still closer bonds ; to exalt the standards
of American civilization, encourage the promotion of
thrift, iudnstry, and economy, and the homely virtues
which have ennobled our people ; uphold the stability of
our currency and credit and the unstained honor of the
government; and illustrate the purity of our national
and municipal government : and then, though the rain
descends and the floods come and the winds blow, the
nation will stand, for it is founded upon a rock.
XXXI.
Address to the Officers and Students of the Uni-
\t:rsity of Pennsylvania, Acadejmy of Music, Phila-
delphia, February 22, 1898.
Mr. Provost, Officers and Students of the University of
Pennsylvania, Ladies and Gentlemen :
We celebrate here, as in ever}'- part of our country,
the birthday of a great patriot, who assured the begin-
ning of a great nation. This day belongs to patriotism
and the people. But in a certain sense the University of
Pennsylvania has special reasons for honoring the 22d
of February. For over half a century, with ever-in-
creasing popularity and public recognition, you have
observed the occasion either as a holiday or with pa-
triotic exercises, participated in by faculty and students.
No other American institution of learning has a prouder
title to the veneration of Washington's memory than
this, whose foundation was laid in colonial days, nearly
fifty years before Pennsylvania became a State ; whose
progress was largely due to the activity of Franklin and
68 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
other zealous and far-seeing patriots ; and whose trustees
were on terms of sufficient intimacy with Washington
to congratulate him upon his election to the Presidency,
and to receive from him a notable reply, which has
passed into the history of the times.
Washington, too, belonged to the brotherhood of the
alumni of this institution, having accepted the degree of
doctor of laws conferred upon him in 1783— an honor
doubtless the more appreciated when he recalled the
events which gave him close and peculiar attachment to
the city of Philadeli^hia.
No wonder that your great university has made the 22d
of February its most impressive ceremonial, and devoted
its annual exercises to special tributes to the memory of
the first President of the United States, and the patriotic
themes which cluster thickly about his life and work.
I rejoice with you in the day. I rejoice, also, that
throughout this broad land the birthday of the patriot
leader is faithfully observed, and celebrated with an
enthusiasm and earnestness which testify to the virtue
and gratitude of the American people.
It would not be possible, in the comparatively short
time to which these exercises must to-day be limited, to
follow Washington in his long and distinguished ser-
vices at the head of the army and as Chief Executive of
the government. My purpose is simply to call to your
attention a few points in Washington's career which
have singularly impressed me, and to refer to some
passages in his writings that seem peculiarly appropri-
ate for the guidance of the people, who, under our form
of government, have in their keeping the well-being of
the country.
In its entirety Washington's public life is as familiar
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 69
to the American student as the history of the United
States. They are associated in holy and indissoluble
bonds. The one is incomplete without the other; the
one cannot be written without the other. Washington's
character and achievements have been a part of the
school-books of the nation for more than a century, and
have moved American youth and American manhood to
aspire to the highest ideals of responsible citizenship.
With enduring fame as a great soldier, the world has rec-
ognized his equal accomplishments in the paths of states-
manship. As a soldier he was peerless in the times in
which he lived, and as a statesman his rank is fixed with
the most illustrious in any country or in any age.
But with all our pride in Washington we not infre-
quently fail to give him credit for his marvelous genius
as a constructive statesman. We are constantly in
danger of losing sight of the sweep and clearness of his
comprehension, which accurately grasped the problems
of the remote future and knew how to formulate the
best means for their solution. It was committed to
Washington to launch our ship of state. He had neither
precedent nor predecessor to help him. He welded the
scattered and at times antagonistic colonies into an in-
destructible Union, and inculcated the lessons of mutual
forbearance and fraternity which have cemented the
States into still closer bonds of interest and sympathy.
From the hour when Washington declared in his
Virginia home that he would raise a thousand men and
equip them at his own expense to march to the defense
of Boston, he became the masterful spirit of the Con-
tinental Army, and the mightiest single factor in the
struggle for liberty and independence. Apparently
without personal ambition, spurning royal honors
70 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
when they were suggested to him, he fulfilled a still
more glorious destiny as the guiding force of a civil-
ization freer and mightier than the history of man had
ever known.
Though Washington's exalted character and the most
striking acts of his brilliant record are too familiar to
be recounted here, where so many times they have re-
ceived eloquent and deserved eulogy, yet often as the
story is retold it engages our love and admiration and
interest. We love to recall his noble unselfishness, his
heroic purposes, the power of his magnificent personality,
his glorious achievements for mankind, and his stalwart
and unflinching devotion to independence, liberty, and
union. These cannot be too often told or too familiarly
known.
A slaveholder himself, he yet hated slavery, and pro-
vided in his will for the emancipation of his slaves. Not
a college graduate, he was always enthusiastically the
friend of liberal education. He used every suitable
occasion to impress upon Congress and the country the
importance of a high standard of general education,
and characterized the diffusion of knowledge as the
most essential element of strength in the system of free
government. That learning should go with liberty, and
that liberty is never endangered so long as it is in the
keeping of intelligent citizens, was the ideal civic code
which his frequent utterances never failed to enforce.
And how reverent always was this great man, how
prompt and generous his recognition of the guiding
hand of divine Providence in establishing and control-
ling the destinies of the colonies and the republic !
Again and again— in his talks, in his letters, in his
state papers and formal addresses— he reveals this side
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 71
of liis character, the force of which we still feel, and, I
trust, we always will.
At the very height of his success and reward, as he
emerged from the Revolution, receiving by unanimous
acclaim the plaudits of the people, and commanding the
respect and admiration of the civilized world, he did not
forget that his first of&cial act as President should be
fervent supplication to the Almighty Being who rules
the universe. It is he who presides in the councils of
nations, and whose providential aid can supply every
human defect. It is his benediction which we most
want, and which can and will consecrate the liberties
and happiness of the people of the United States. With
his help the instruments of the citizens employed to
carry out their purposes will succeed in the functions
allotted to public life.
But Washington on this occasion went further and
spoke for the people, assuming that he but voiced the
sentiment of the young nation in thus making faith in
Almighty God and reliance upon his favor and care
one of the strong foundations of the government then
inaugurated. And proceeding, Washington states the
reasons for his belief in language so exalted that it
should be graven deep upon the mind of every patriot :
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible
hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of
the United States.
Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an
independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some
token of j)rovidential agency; and in the important revolution
just accomplished in the system of their united government, the
tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct
communities, from which the events resulted, cannot be compared
with the means by which most governments have been established,
72 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble an-
ticipation of the future blessings which the past seems to presage.
These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced
themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will
join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the in-
fluence of which the proceedings of a new and free government
can more auspiciously commence.
The Senate of the United States made fitting response
of its appreciation of this portion of the President's
inaugural address when its members declared that "a
review of the many signal instances of divine interven-
tion in favor of this country claims our most pious grati-
tude," and that they were ''unavoidably led to acknow-
ledge and adore the great Arbiter of the universe, by
whom empires rise and fall." Congress added its sanction
by providing that, '' after the oath shall have been ad-
ministered to the President, he, attended by the Vice-
President and the members of the Senate and House of
Representatives, proceed to St. Paul's Chapel to hear
divine service, to be performed by the chaplain of Con-
gress already appointed."
Not alone upon days of thanksgiving or in times of
trial should we as a people remember and follow the
example thus set by the fathers, but never in our future
as a nation should we forget the great moral and reli-
gious principles which they enunciated and defended as
their most precious heritage. In an age of great activ-
ity, of industrial and commercial strife, and of perplex-
ing problems, we should never abandon the simple faith
in Almighty God as recognized in the name of the Amer-
ican people by Washington and the First Congress.
But if a timely lesson is to be drawn from the opinions
of Washington on his assuming the office of President,
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 73
so, also, is much practical benefit to be derived from the
present application of portions of his Farewell Address, a
document in which Washington laid down principles
which appeared to him ''all-important to the perma-
nence of your felicity as a people."
In that address Washington contends in part (1) for
the promotion of institutions of learning ; (2) for cher-
ishing the public credit ; (3) for the observance of good
faith and justice toward all nations.
One hundi'ed years ago free schools were little known
in the United States. There were excellent schools for
the well-to-do and charitable institutions for the instruc-
tion of boys and girls without means; but the free
public school, open alike to the children of the rich and
poor and supported by the State, awaited creation and
development. The seed planted soon bore fruit. Free
schools were the necessary supplement of free men.
The wise and liberal provisions for public instruction
by the fathers, second ouly in effect to their struggle
for the independence and creation of the Union, were
destined at no distant date to produce the most wonder-
ful results.
As the country has grown, education fostered by the
State has kept pace with it. Rich as are the collegiate
endowments of the Old World, none of them excel in
munificence the gifts made to educational institutions by
the people of the United States and by their govern-
ments, in conformity with "• the influence which sound
learning has on religion and manners, on government,
liberty, and laws." Adams and Madison, Jefferson and
Hamilton, Sherman and Trumbull, Hancock, Jay, Mar-
shall, the Clintons, and many others of our early states-
men were scarcely less earnest and eloquent than
74 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Washington himself in pleading the cause of sound and
liberal education for the people.
Nor does this seem surprising when we reflect that
the truest aim and worthiest ambition of education is
not finished scholarship for the favored few, but the
elevation of a high standard of citizenship among the
many, I have had peculiar satisfaction in the fact that
Washington, in those early days, when engrossed with
mighty governmental problems, did not forget his con-
tributions for the education of the poor, and left in his
will a bequest to be dedicated to free public instruction.
Nothing better tells the value he placed upon knowledge
as an essential to the highest and best citizenship.
How priceless is a liberal education ! In itself what
a rich endowment ! It is not impaired by age, but its
value increases with use. No one can employ it but its
rightful owner. He alone can illustrate its worth and
enjoy its rewards. It cannot be inherited or purchased.
It must be acquired by individual effort. It can be se-
cured only by perseverance and self-denial. But it is
free as the air we breathe. Neither race nor national-
ity nor sex can debar the earnest seeker from its pos-
session. It is not exclusive, but inclusive in the broadest
and best sense. It is within the reach of all who really
want it and are brave enough to struggle for it. The
earnest rich and the worthy poor are equal and friendly
rivals in its pursuit, and neither is exempted from any
of the sacrifices necessary for its acquisition. The
key to its title is not the bright allurements of rank
and station, but the simple watchword of work and
study.
A liberal education is the prize of individual industry.
It is the greatest blessing that a man or woman can
■KTrrmrr
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 75
enjoy, when supported by virtue, morality, and noble
aims. But the acquirement of learning in our schools
and colleges seems so easy that we are apt to under-
estimate its value and let the opportunity to win it slip
by, until regretfully we find that the chance is gone.
The rudiments must be ingrafted in youth, or, with rare
exceptions, they are forever lost.
Life to most is a struggle, and there is little time for
the contemplation of the theoretical when the practical
is pressing at every hand. Stern duty monopolizes our
time. The command of others controls our preferences
and often defeats our intentions. By steadily adhering
to a firm purpose amid the activities of life, we may keep
in touch with the literature of the day ; but to go back
to the classics, or to grapple with the foundations of the
sciences, is beyond the power of most men when they
have entered upon their chosen business or profession.
One's mental fighting, often a hand-to-hand conflict
with obstacles and temptations, is a battle of his own, a
campaign whose motive force is individuality rather than
circumstances or luck. Work in the mental world is as
real as that in the physical world. Nor has any pre-
scription yet been found to take the place of application
and self-denial and personal struggles, which have given
to the world its greatest leaders and noblest achieve-
ments.
'^ Cherish the public credit ! " How much both of
reflection and instruction is combined in this simple
admonition of the Father of his Country ! The United
States emerged from the bitter and prolonged struggle
of the Revolutionary War exhausted financially, and with
a hundred existing perplexities and difficulties which
remained to be solved before the financial credit of the
76 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
new nation could be established at home and demon-
strated abroad.
But Washington knew how to gather around him,
and place in positions of the greatest trust, the able
financiers and economists whose names the country still
venerates and whose great work it still enjoys. Hamil-
ton and Morris and Gallatin and others were successful
in establishing the Treasury and inaugurating the finan-
cial operations of this government upon principles which
recognized that the most enduring basis of national
credit was national honor, and that whatever other
assets we might have or acquire, that was indispensable,
first, last, and all the time, if we would cherish the
public credit. We have been fully rewarded all along
our history by adhering to the principles of Washington
in keeping the public faith. Before half a century had
passed we had paid off our national debt and had a
balance in the Treasury. Another debt, the greatest in
our history, was incurred in the Civil War for the pres-
ervation of the Union. But this did not exceed the
resources or discourage the intentions of the American
people. There were those who suggested repudiation,
but the people repudiated them and went on unchecked,
discharging the obligations of the government in the
coin of honor.
From the day our flag was unfurled to the present
hour, no stain of a just obligation violated has yet tar-
nished the American name. This must and will be as
true in the future as it has been in the past. There will
be prophets of evil and false teachers. Some part of
the column may waver and wander away from the
standard, but there will ever rally around it a mighty
majority to preserve it stainless.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 77
At no point in his administration does Washington
appear in grander proportions than when he enunciates
his ideas in regard to the foreign policy of the govern-
ment : " Observe good faith and justice toward all na-
tions ; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion
and morality enjoin this conduct. Can it be that good
policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of
a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great
nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too
novel example of a people always guided by an exalted
justice and benevolence."
To-day, nearly a century from Washington's death, we
turn reverentially to study the leading principles of that
comprehensive chart for the guidance of the people. It
was his unflinching, immovable devotion to these per-
ceptions of duty which more than anything else made
him what he was and contributed so directly to make
us what we are. Following the precepts of Washington
we cannot err. The wise lessons in government which
he left us it wiU be profitable to heed. He seems to
have grasped all possible conditions and pointed the
way safely to meet them. He has established danger-
signals all along the pathway of the nation's march.
He has warned us against false lights. He has taught
us the true philosophy of '' a perfect union," and shown
us the grave dangers from sectionalism and wild and
unreasonable party spirit. He has emphasized the neces-
sity at all times for the exercise of a sober and dis-
passionate public judgment. Such judgment, my
fellow-citizens, is the best safeguard in the calm of tran-
quil events, and rises superior and triumphant above the
storms of woe and peril.
We have every incentive to cherish the memory and
78 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
teachings of Washington. His wisdom and foresight
have been confirmed and vindicated after more than a
century of experience. His best eulogy is the work he
wrought, his highest tribute is the great republic which
he and his compatriots founded. From four millions
we have grown to more than seventy millions of people,
while our progress in industry, learning, and the arts
has been the wonder of the world. What the future
will be depends upon ourselves, and that that future will
bring still greater blessings to a free people I cannot
doubt. With education and morality in our homes,
loyalt)'' to the underlying principles of free government
in our hearts, and law and justice fostered and exem-
plified by those intrusted with public administration,
we will continue to enjoy the respect of mankind and
the gracious favor of Almighty God. The priceless op-
portunity is ours to demonstrate anew the enduring
triumph of American civilization, and to help in the
progress and prosperity of the land we love.
XXXII.
Address op the Powers in Regard to Existing Dip-
FERBNCES WITH SpAIN, EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASH-
INGTON, D. C, April 6, 1898.
The undersigned, representatives of Germany, Aus-
tria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia,
duly authorized in that behalf, address in the name of
their respective governments a pressing appeal to the
feelings of humanity and moderation of the President
and of the American people in their existing differences
with Spain. They earnestly hope that further negotia-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 79
tions will lead to an agreement which, while securing
the maintenance of peace, will afford all necessary guar-
anties for the reestablishment of order in Cuba,
The Powers do not doubt that the humanitarian and
purely disinterested character of this representation will
be fully recognized and appreciated by the American
nation.
Washington, D. C, April G, 1898.
(Signed) Julian Pauncefote,
For Great Britain.
(Signed) Holleben,
For Germany.
(Signed) Jules Cambon,
For France.
(Signed) v. Hengel3Iuller,
For Austria-Hungaiy
(Signed) Gr. de Wollant,
For Russia.
(Signed) G. C. Vinci,
For Italy.
Reply of the President.
The government of the United States recognizes the
good will which has prompted the friendly communica-
tion of the representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary,
France, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia, as set forth in
the address of your Excellencies, and shares the hope
therein expressed that the outcome of the situation in
Cuba may be the maintenance of peace between the
United States and Spain by affording the necessary
guaranties for the reestablishment of order in the
island, so terminating the chronic condition of dis-
80 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
turbance there, which so deeply injures the interests and
menaces the tranquillity of the American nation by
the character and consequences of the struggle thus
kept up at our doors, besides shocking its sentiment of
humanity.
The government of the United States appreciates the
humanitarian and disinterested character of the com-
munication now made on behalf of the Powers named,
and for its part is confident that equal appreciation
will be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endea-
vors to fulfil a duty to humanity by ending a situation
the indefinite prolongation of which has become in-
sufferable.
XXXIII.
Speech at Camp Wikopf, Montauk Point, New York,
September 3, 1898, with Introductory Reiviarks
BY Major-General Joseph Wheeler, U. S. V., Com-
jyiANDiNG Fifth Ariviy-Corps.
REMARKS OF MAJOR-GENERAL WHEELER.
Brave Soldiers :
The President of our great country has come here
to-day to greet the division that marched so gallantly up
San Juan hill on July 1. He comes to express the na-
tion's thanks to these brave men, and every voice will
echo the statement that there could be no greater honor
for them than to incur again the same dangers and en
dure the same hardships which they gloried in being
privileged to undergo in the capture of Santiago.
I want to tell you that when the President sent me
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 8i
liere two weeks ago to command this camp, he enjoined
me. in the most emphatic language, that, without regard
to expense, I should exercise any and every authority
necessary to add to your comfort and restore you to
health. Since the 1st of July this brave body of men
by their courage have helped to raise this great republic
to the highest position among the nations of the earth.
I now have the honor and pleasure of introducing to you
the President of the United States.
SPEECH OF THE PRESmENT.
General Wheeler, Soldiers of Camp WiJcoff, Soldiers of the
Fifth Army-Corps :
I am glad to meet you. I am honored to meet the
brave men who stand before me to-day. I bring you
the gratitude of the nation, to whose history you have
added, by your valor, a new and glorious page. You
have come home after two months of severe campaign-
ing, which has embraced assault and siege and battle,
so brilliant in achievement, so far-reaching in results
as to command the unstinted praise of all your country-
men.
You had the brunt of the battle on land. You bore
yourselves with supreme courage, and your personal
bravery, never before excelled anywhere, has won the
admiration of your fellow-citizens and the genuine re-
spect of all mankind, while the endurance of the soldier
under peculiar trial and suffering has given an added
meaning to American heroism. Your victories made
easy the conquest of Porto Rico, under the resistless
army commanded by Major-General Miles, and behind
82 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
you, ready to proceed at a moment's summons, were
more than two hundred thousand of your comrades,
disappointed that the opportunity which you had did
not come to them, but yet filled with pride at your well-
earned fame and rejoicing with you upon your signal
victories. You were on the line of battle ; they no less
than you were in the line of duty. All have served
their country in its hour of need ; all will serve it so
long as they are required ; and all will forever have the
thanks and regard of a grateful people.
We cannot bid you welcome here to-day without oiir
hearts going out to the heroes of Manila on sea and land,
whose services and sacrifices, whose coiu-age and con-
stancy, in that far-distant field of operations, have never
been surpassed by any sailors or soldiers the world over.
To the army and navy, to the marines, to the regulars,
to the volunteers, and to that Providence which has
watched over them all, the nation to-day is full of thanks-
giving and praise. The names of the brave officers and
men who fell in battle and of those who have died from
exposure and sickness will live in immortal story. Their
memories will be perpetuated in the hearts and history
of a generous people; and those who are dependent
upon them will not be neglected by the government
for which they so freely sacrificed their lives. [Prolonged
cheering.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 83
XXXIV.
Kemarks to the CoivonssiON Appointed to Investi-
gate THE Administration of the War Department
IN the Spanish- Ajvierican War, Executive Mansion,
Septeiviber 26, 1898.
Gentlemen :
Before suggesting the matters which shall come
before you for investigation, I desire to express my
appreciation to each of you for your willingness to accept
the patriotic service to which you have been invited.
You are to perform one of the highest public duties
that can fall to a citizen, and your unselfishness in
undertaking it makes me profoundly grateful.
There has been in many quarters severe criticism of
the conduct of the war with Spain. Charges of criminal
neglect of the soldiers in camp and field and hospital and
in transports have been so persistent that, whether true
or false, they have made a deep impression upon the
country. It is my earnest desire that you shall thor-
oughly investigate these charges, and make the fullest
examination of the administration of the War Depart-
ment in all of its branches, with the view to establishing
the truth or falsity of these accusations. I put upon
you no limit to the scope of your investigation. Of all
departments connected with the army I invite the
closest scrutiny and examination, and shall afford every
facility for the most searching inquiry. The records of
the War Department and the assistance of its officers
shall be subject to your eall.
84 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
I cannot impress upon 3^011 too strongly my wish that
your investigation shall be so thorough and complete that
your report, when made, shall fix the responsibility for
any failure or fault, by reason of neglect, incompetency,
or maladministration, upon the oificers and bureaus
responsible therefor— if it be found that the evils com-
plained of have existed.
The people of the country are entitled to know whether
or not the citizens who so promptly responded to the
call of duty have been neglected or misused or mal-
treated by the government to which they so willingly
gave their services. If there have been wrongs com-
mitted, the wrong-doers must not escape conviction and
punishment.
XXXV.
Remarks at De Kalb, Illinois, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It was no part of the program that I should be wel-
comed by the people of De Kalb at this hour of the morn-
ing, but I appreciate your generous welcome, and share
with you in congratulations to our country and to your
army and navy for the successful issues of the last four
months. I am sure there has never been a time in our
history when patriotism has been more marked or more
universal than it is to-day, and the same high purpose
which characterized the conduct of the people in war
will influence and control them in the settlements of
peace. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM McEINLEY. 85
XXXVI.
Speech at Clinton, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I liave not fitting words to express my appreciation
of this cordial welcome. We have gone from indus-
trial depression to industrial activity. We have gone
from labor seeking employment to employment seeking
labor. [Applause.] We have abundant and unques-
tionable currency the world over, and we have an un-
surpassed national credit— better than it has ever been
before in our history.
We have, too, a good national conscience, and we have
the courage of destiny. [Great applause.] We have
much to be grateful for in the stirring events of the past
six months. The army and navy of the United States
have won not only praise, but the admiration of the
world. [Cheers.]
Our achievements on land and sea are without paral-
lel in the world's history. During all these trying months
the people of the United States have stood together as
one man. North and South have been united as never
before. [Applause.] People who think alike in a coun-
try like ours must act together. That is what we have
been doing recently, and we want to continue to act
together until the fruits of our war shall be embodied
in solemn and permanent settlements. [Applause.]
We want no differences at home until we have settled
our differences abroad [applause] ; when that is all done,
we can have our little differences among ourselves. I
86 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
am glad to be in the State of Iowa ; I am glad to meet
and be greeted by your representatives in Congress
and by your honored governor, and I need not tell you
how glad I am to meet my old friend, your distinguished
senator [Senator Allison]. [Great applause.]
XXXVII.
Remaeks at Dewitt, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
Mij Fellow-Citizens :
I cannot be indifferent to the very generous greeting
that has been given me since I entered your great State,
At every point j^our people have made me feel entirelj'
at home. Indeed, there is no part of this glorious coun-
try where every citizen may not feel at home. [Applause.]
XXXVIII.
Speech at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen :
It gives me very great pleasure to meet the citizens of
Cedar Rapids as we journej^ to the great Western city
whither I go to celebrate with the people of the trans-
Mississippi States the triumphs of their skill, their genius,
and their industry. It is a fortunate situation that this
people, while engaged in war, never neglect the indus-
tries of peace. And while the war was going on and
we were engaged in arms against a foreign foe, the in-
dustries of the people went on, and their progress and
prosperity were in no wise checked. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 87
I go tliitlier, also, that I may celebrate witli my fellow-
countrymeu of the West the progress of the war thus far
made, the protocol already signed, and the suspension of
hostilities, with the hope you and I entertain that, in
the final settlements, the treaty may be one founded in
right and justice and in the interest of humanity.
[Applause.] This war, that was so speedily closed
through the valor and intrepidity of our soldiers, will
bring us, I trust, blessings that are now beyond cal-
culation. [Applause.] It will bring also burdens, but
the American people never shirk a responsibility and
never unload a burden that carries forward civilization.
We accepted war for humanity. We can accept no
terms of peace which shall not be in the interest of
humanity. [Great applause.] That hostilities have
ceased upon terms so satisfactory to the people of the
United States is cause for congratulation, and calls
forth sentiments of gratitude to divine Providence for
those favors which he has manifested unto us, and of
appreciation of the army and navy for their brilliant
victories.
Such a celebration cannot but be helpful. It wiU en-
courage love of country, and will emphasize the noble
achievements of our soldiers and sailors on land and sea.
War has no glories except it achieves them, and no
achievements are worth having which do not advance
civilization and benefit mankind. [Great applause.]
While our victories in battle have added new honors to
American valor, the real honor is the substantial gain
to humanity. Out of the bitterness and woe, the priva-
tions and sufferings and anxieties of the past five
months, mil flow benefits to the nation which may be
more important than we can now realize.
88 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
No development of the war lias been more gratifying-
and exalting than the complete unification of the nation.
Sectional lines have been obliterated ; party differences
have been hushed in the great chorus of patriotism which
has been heard from one end of the country to the other.
[Great applause.] To the Executive's call for volunteers
no more prompt response was received than came from
the patriotic people of the South and the West, and
none was more patriotic than that of the people of
Iowa. And when the orders were given to advance
into a foreign territory, every soldier was disappointed
whose regiment was not included in the orders to
march. All were anxious to be with that portion of the
army which was first to meet the enemy. Our grati-
tude is boundless to these brave men, and the nation
will hold them in perpetual memory. [Applause.]
In paying tribute to the patriotism and valor of the
men engaged in the war, we must not fail to give de-
served praise to the nobility of the women. As in the
war for independence and for the Union, they never
hesitated or murmured, freely offering their best be-
loved on the altar of their country. Husbands and sons
went from every walk of life, even at personal self-sacri-
fice in the struggle for support, and were not held back,
but encouraged to respond to the sacred call of duty.
Alert, generous, and practical in providing relief work,
ministering where disease and death were most frequent
in the camps and at the front, tenderly resigned and
sublime in their submission and faith when death claimed
the dearest of their household, the women of the United
States, in all the nation's trials through which we have
passed, have placed the government and the people under
a debt of gratitude that they can never repay. [Great
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 89
applause.] They have added new glory to the rare
and exquisite qualities of American womanhood. [Pro-
longed applause.]
XXXIX.
Speech at Belle Plaine, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My FeUoiv-Cifisens :
I am glad to meet the constituents of your honored
representative, Mr. Cousins. Iowa, following the rule
of the old New England States, as well as of some of the
Southern States, has gained great influence in the coun-
cils of the nation by keeping men of experience on
guard. And I want to say to this audience of Iowa
people that through all the stirring months, from April
to September, the President of the United States felt
the constant and faithful support of Iowa's representa-
tives in the Senate and House of Representatives. [Ap-
plause.] Iowa is not only great in civil council, but
she is never behind when the call is made to arms. Her
sons in the recent war, as well as in the great Civil War,
were among the first at the front.
This war has taught us a great many lessons, and one
of the most priceless connected with the conflict has
been the triumph of our humanity. There have been
touches of humanity in this recent war that will impress
mankind for all time. In the words of the commander
of the ship who said to his crew, '^ Don't cheer, the poor
fellows are dying " ; when the commander of that other
ship said to his crew, "Don't fire, the flag has gone
down"; in the command of the colonel of the Rough
90 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Riders, " Don't swear ; fight ! " we seem almost to get a
glance of the divine spark in the nobility of the men
who participated in our war. [Great applause.]
What we want, my fellow-citizens, is that the conclu-
sion of this war, as written in public treaty, shall be a
triumph for humanity. [Great applause.]
XL.
Speech at Tama, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It gives me peculiar pleasure to meet my fellow-citi-
zens in the home county of the Secretary of Agriculture,
and I feel very much like thanking aU of you for having
contributed him to the country, for he has been a most
valuable public servant in the administration of his great
office. [Cheers.]
From April to September have been important months
for us, and during that time history has been made for
the United States— made by the brave men from every
State in the Union, North and South, on land and on
sea ; and we have great cause for congratulation that
hostilities were suspended at so early a date, and for
the victory that came to our arms.
Now, what we want to do as a nation— and I speak to
all the people— is to see to it that in the final settlement
of this controversy we shall have the glorious fulfil-
ment of the best aspii-ations of the American people.
We want to preserve carefuUy all the old life of the
nation,— the dear old life of the nation and our cherished
institutions,— but we do not want to shirk a single re-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 91
sponsibility that has been put upon us by the results of
the war. [Great applause.]
XLI.
Speech at Marshalltown, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow- Citizens :
It is to me most gratifying to find the people taking
an interest in their government. All power rests with
them, and those of us who for the moment are selected
to execute their will, are but their servants. No people
have greater cause for pride in their government than
those of the United States. And you will be glad to
know that in credit your government never stood bet-
ter than now. [Applause.] You will be glad to be re-
minded that when it was necessary to raise money for
the prosecution of the war, and a loan was sought of
two hundi-ed millions of dollars, more than fourteen
hundred millions were subscribed by the people of the
United States [applause], and for the first time in our
history your government— my government— sells a
three-per-cent. bond, a bond which sold at par, which
is now worth a premium of five cents on every doUar,
v/hich profit has gone to the people. For it was a pop-
ular loan, and no citizen was able to receive more than
five thousand dollars' worth of bonds. [Applause.]
I am always glad, my f eUow-citizens, to meet with the
people. They make the public sentiment of the country,
and it is the public sentiment of the country that gov-
erns the country. The best sentiment, the holiest senti-
ment, comes from the American homes— the plain homes
i^
92 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
where vii-tue resides ; and a home life, a family life, lies
at the very foundation of this popular government of
ours. As long as we keep the homes pure, so long will
we keep our government pure. [Applause.]
I see a number of old soldiers about me. I am glad
to meet them. I see some of the young soldiers about
me. I am glad to meet them. The Grand Army of the
Republic will be increased, and there will be two hun-
dred and twenty thousand soldiers eligible for admission
into the Grand Army of the Republic, made so by the
recent war with Spain, and we welcome them, for they
are our comrades. They did just as the old soldiers of
the other volunteer army did— they did their whole duty,
and were willing to bare their breasts to the enemy's
bullets, and sacrifice their lives, if need be, for the honor
of the government of the United States. [Applause.]
No more splendid army was ever mustered beneath any
flag than the army of the United States, numbering two
hundred and sixty thousand men, mustered inside of
sixty days. And in one hundred and thirteen days
hostilities were suspended. And we are all of us pray-
ing in our hearts and in our homes that the peace which
shall be finally secured shall be as humane and as honor-
able and as just as has been the prosecution of the war.
[Great applause.]
XLII.
Speech at Aimes, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I am glad to meet you as I have been meeting thou-
sands of your fellow-citizens on our journey through
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 93
your State and to be at the seat of the Agricultural
College of Iowa. One of the wisest things this govern-
ment ever did was to make ample provision for these
great agricultural and educational institutions through-
out the land. We have more than half a hundred of
them now, attesting the far-sightedness and sagacity
of the Congress of the United States. In a govern-
ment like ours citizenship is always improved by edu-
cation, and the pride and glory of the nation is that
the school-room has an open door for every boy and girl
of the land. And one of the encouraging things in
this country is that the poorest boy in the land may
aspire to the highest place in the government of the re-
public. The citizenship that comes out of the schools of
the country is the hope of the country. When our war
commenced in 1861 —the Civil War— the young men from
the schools and universities in every part of the North
enlisted under the banner of liberty. When our recent
war with Spain commenced, the young men from the
schools and the colleges, and from the universities, and
from every rank and station in life, enlisted to carry
forward that banner of glory into a foreign land, and
die, if need be, for the honor of the republic. [Great
applause.] It is a glorious citizenship we have. It meets
every emergency and responds to every crisis in the life
of the nation. The American people have never failed,
no matter how great the emergency, no matter how
grave the crisis, to measure up to the highest respon-
sibilities of honor and duty. [Great applause.]
We have much to be grateful for. No nation in
the world has more cause for profound thankfulness
than the American nation to-day. We have passed
through a foreign war. No one knew at its beginning
94 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
what its results might immediately be. We all knew
what its results must ultimately be, but we did not
know how much it would cost in life or treasure to se-
cure these results. At the end of less than four
months hostilities were suspended, and one half of the
army that volunteered to fight the battles of the country
were mustered out and returned to their homes. And
then what results have been accomplished for humanity,
for civilization, against oppression ! [Great applause.]
Of which results we need not speak now, for these results
are yet unknown and unwi-itten.
All we can do as a people in the present situation is
just what we have done in the last four months : stand
together and be wise and respond to duty— the respon-
sibility of duty, however grave that may be. [Great ap-
plause.]
XLIII.
Speech at Boone, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow- Citizens :
During this day I have been made very deeply sensible
of the manifestations of good will from the people of
Iowa that have followed me all along my journey through
your State. I do not misinterpret its meaning. I know
how little, if anything, there is personal in it. I know
you are showing your respect for the great office of
President of the United States, an office which, fortu-
nately for us, always, in every administration,— no matter
who has administered it,— has commanded the respect of
the whole American people. We are fortunate to-day,
more fortunate than we have been for more than half a
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 95
century, in having an undivided and indivisible and
united nation. [Applause.]
Every section of this country loves the old flag dearly,
and we have but one flag, and that the glorious Stars and
Stripes. [Applause.] It is a sight inspiring to behold
that in our war the troops of the North brigaded with
the troops of the South ; that Iowa troops were brigaded
with the troops of Georgia, and commanded by that
distinguished ex-Confederate, whose name is so familiar
in the annals of the Civil War, so that once more we
were all together. We were all together in the fight ;
we must be all together in the conclusion. [Cheers.]
This is no time for divided councils. This is the solemn
hour demanding the highest wisdom and the best states-
manship of every section of our country, and, thank
God, there is no North, no South, no East, no West,
but all Americans forever. [Great applause.]
The only great danger for this people is that now and
then they become indifferent. Indifferent citizenship is
always unfortunate ; it is always unfortunate to be in-
different to a party, but it is more unfortunate to be
indifferent to principle. In the United States we have
grown to have convictions, and we have come to know
how to put these convictions into public law and public
administration. If I would have you remember any-
thing I have said in these desultory remarks, it would
be to remember at this critical hour in the nation's his- )
tory we must not be divided. The triumphs of the war J
are yet to be written in the articles of peace. [Great
applause.]
96 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
XLIV.
Speech at Carroll, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
3Iy Fellou'-Cifisens ;
I am glad to meet the people of Carroll, and read in
your cheerful faces that you are fairly well satisfied with
your own condition and that of the country. We have
been having for the past five months very stirring
events, and, fortunately for us, we have been triumphant.
Providence has been extremely kind to the American
people— kind not only in the recent conflict of arms,
but in every step and stage of our history from its very
beginning until now. We have been singularly blessed
and favored. The past of our country is secure, and it
is glorious. It is the future with which we have to deal ;
and if we shall be as wise as our fathers, then this gov-
ernment will be carried on successfully by their sons.
Just at this hour, although hostilities have been sus-
pended, we are confronted with the gravest national
problems. It is a time for the soberest judgment and
the most conservative and considerate action. As we
have stood together in the war, so we must stand to-
gether until the results of that war shall be written in
peace. [Great applause.] I am here journeying to the
city of Omaha, glad of the opportunity to pay my re-
spects to the people of Iowa, and to congratulate them
upon the valor of the American army and na\'y, and
upon the prosperous condition of the country.
We have a great country— we will be excused if we
say the greatest country in the world ; great in its pos-
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 97
sibilities, great in its opportunities. And with these
rest upon all of us great responsibilities. I trust that
we will be able to meet them and to measure up to every
opportunity of honor and duty. [Loud and prolonged
applause.]
XLV.
Speech at Denison, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
I am both gratified and honored to meet my country-
men at the home of the governor of the State of Iowa.
I remember with w^hat satisfaction, in response to the
first call of the Executive for troops, I received his mes-
sage saying that Iowa was ready to furnish any number
of troops to sustain the honor and dignity of the govern-
ment of the United States. I remember, also, at the
conclusion of hostilities, when the time had come for
the muster out of a part of that great volunteer army,
he said, speaking for all the people of all the State, that
Iowa's troops would remain just as long as the govern-
ment of the United States needed them. [Loud and
prolonged cheering.]
I am glad, also, to meet the constituents of my honored
and eloquent friend, your representative in the Congress
of the United States [Representative Dolliver]. I have
known him long and well, and I am sure this district
honors itself in having so distinguished a representative
at the seat of government.
This is an era of patriotism. There are no party
lines. Partizanship has been hushed, and the voice of
patriotism alone is heard throughout the land. Never
98 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
was there a more united people. Never since the begin-
ning of the government itself were the people of this
country so united in aim and purpose and hope as at the
present hour. As they were united in the war, so they
will be united until peace finally comes — a peace founded
upon right and justice and humanity. [Great applause.]
We have much to be grateful for in other directions
than our martial achievements. We have much to be
grateful for because of the condition of the country.
We have a fair share of prosperity in the field and the
factory. Business looks hopeful and assuring every-
where, and our credit balances show the progress which
the country is making. In 1892, six years ago, we sent
more products out of the United States than we had ever
sent before. This year we have sent more products to
Europe, receiving in paj^ment their good gold, than were
ever shipped there out of the United States in a single
year of our history. [Great applause.] One billion two
hundred million dollars' worth of American products, the
production of your fields and your labor, went out of the
United States this year, and more than eight hundred
million dollars of that sum were made up of agricultural
products, while our importations, or what we bought
abroad, were only about one half of what we sold abroad,
leaving a large balance in our favor. This is a cause of
congratulation from one end of the country to the
other, for if there is any one thing that makes the
people contented and happy, it is to have a fair share
of prosperity. [Great applause.]
And now, my fellow-citizens, thanking you as I have
thanked the hundreds of thousands of people who have
greeted me to-day in your State with a cordial and
hearty welcome, I bid you all good night.
OF WILLIAM McKIXLEY. 99
XLVI.
Remarks at Logan, Iowa, October 11, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I have had to-day so many exhibitions of Iowa's kind-
ness and hospitality that I shall leave the State with very
great regret. At every point of my journey I have been
welcomed by the peoj^le with a heartiness and a cordial-
ity which, I assure you, have profoundly touched me. I
am glad to see that wherever I have been the people of
this goodly State are prosperous and happy, and that
they love the government and love the flag. [Great ap-
plause.]
XLATI.
. Speech at Missouri Valley, Iowa,
October 11, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
No one with my experience of to-day, meeting hun-
dreds of thousands of people in your State and in the
State of Illinois, can have doubt as to the strength and
spirit of popular government. This government of ours
is safe in the hands of its people, because they have no
other aim but the public good, and no other purpose but
to attain for the government the highest destiny and
the greatest prosperity. I have been glad to note all
along the line of my journey evidences of substantial
prosperity in every walk and field of human energy, and
100 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
I congratulate you upon your material advancement
and the high standard of this people and this govern-
ment, not only in the estimation of its own citizens, but
in the estimation of the world.
The grave problems that are before us must be settled.
If we will only pursue the right, following duty at what-
ever cost, the ends reached will be for the honor and
glory of our beloved country. I rejoice to know, as I
do know, that in the contest that is now stayed, and
the problems which are to follow, the American people
will act together as one man— act together not only
for the good of our own country, but for the good of
other peoples, in relation to whom the war has imposed
a duty upon us. [Great applause.]
XLVIIL
Address at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at
OiViAHA, Nebraska, October 12, 1898.
Mr. President , Gentlemen of the Trans-Mississippi Expo-
sition, and Fellow-Citizens :
It is with genuine pleasure that I meet once more the
people of Omaha, whose wealth of welcome is not alto-
gether unfamiliar to me, and whose warm hearts have
before touched and moved me. For this renewed mani-
festation of your regard, and for the cordial reception of
to-day, my heart responds with profound gratitude and
a deep appreciation which I cannot conceal, and which
the language of compliment is inadequate to convey.
My greeting is not alone to your city and the State of
Nebraska, but to the people of all the States of the
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 101
Trans-Mississippi group participating here, and I cannot
■withliold congratulations on the evidences of their
prosperity fui-nished by this great exposition. If testi-
mony were needed to estahlish the fact that their
pluck has not deserted them, and that prosperity is
again with them, it is found here. This picture dispels
all doubt. [Applause.]
In an age of expositions they have added yet another
magnificent example. [Applause.] The historical celebra-
tions at Philadelphia and Chicago, and the splendid ex-
hibits at New Orleans, Atlanta, and Nashville, are now
part of the past, and yet in influence they still live, and
their beneficent results are closely interwoven with our
national development. Similar rewards will honor the
authors and patrons of the Trans-Mississippi and Inter-
national Exposition. Their contribution will mark an-
other epoch in the nation's material advancement.
One of the great laws of life is progress, and nowhere
have the principles of this law been so strikingly illus-
trated as in the United States. A century and a decade
of our national life have tm-ned doubt into conviction,
changed experiment into demonstration, revolutionized
old methods, and won new triumphs which have chal-
lenged the attention of the world. This is true not only
of the accumulation of material wealth, and advance in
education, science, invention, and manufactures, but,
above all, in the opportunities to the people for theii*
own elevation, which have been secured by wise free
government.
Hitherto, in peace and in war, with additions to oiu*
territory and slight changes in our laws, we have steadily
enforced the spirit of the Constitution secured to us by
the noble self-sacrifice and far-seeing sagacity of our
102 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
ancestors. We have avoided the temptations of con-
quest in the spirit of gain. With an increasing love for
our institutions and an abiding faith in theii* stability,
we have made the triumphs of our system of government
in the progress and the prosperity of our people an in-
spiration to the whole human race. [Applause.] Con-
fronted at this moment by new and grave problems, we
must recognize that their solution will affect not our-
selves alone, but others of the family of nations.
In this age of frequent interchange and mutual de-
pendence, we cannot shirk our international responsi-
bihties if we would ; they must be met with courage and
wisdom, and we must follow duty even if desire opposes.
[Applause.] No deliberation can be too mature, or self-
control too constant, in this solemn hour of our history.
We must avoid the temptation of aggression, and aim
to secure only such results as will promote our own
and the general good.
It has been said by some one that the normal condi-
tion of nations is war. That is not true of the United
States. We never enter upon a war until every effort
for peace without it has been exhausted. Ours has
never been a military government. Peace, with whose
blessings we have been so singularly favored, is the na-
tional desire and the goal of every American aspiration.
[Applause.]
On the 25th of April, for the first time for more than
a generation, the United States sounded the call to arms.
The banners of war were unfurled ; the best and bravest
from every section responded ; a mighty army was en-
rolled ; the North and the South vied with each other in
patriotic devotion [great applause] ; science was invoked
to furnish its most effective weapons ; factories were
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 103
ruslied to supply equipment ; the youth and the veteran
joined in freely offering their services to their country ;
volunteers and regulars and all the people rallied to the
support of the republic. There was no break in the line,
no halt in the march, no fear in the heart [great ap-
plause] ; no resistance to the patriotic impulse at home,
no successful resistance to the patriotic spirit of the
troops fighting in distant water or on a foreign shore.
[Continued applause.]
What a wonderful experience it has been from the
standpoint of patriotism and achievement ! The storm
broke so suddenly that it was here almost before we
realized it. Our navy was too small, though forceful with
its modern equipment, and most fortunate in its trained
officers and sailors. Our army had years ago been
reduced to a peace footing. We had only twenty-eight
thousand available troops when the war was declared,
but the account which officers and men gave of them-
selves on the battle-field has never been surj)assed. The
manhood was there and everywhere. American pa-
triotism was there, and its resources were limitless. The
courageous and invincible spirit of the people proved
glorious, and those who a little more than a third of a
century ago were divided and at war with each other
were again united under the holy standard of liberty.
[Great applause.] Patriotism banished party feeling;
fifty millions of dollars for the national defense were
appropriated without debate or division, as a matter of
course and as only a mere indication of our mighty re-
serve power. [Great applause.]
But if this is true of the beginning of the war, what
shall we say of it now, with hostilities suspended, and
peace near at hand, as we fervently hope ? Matchless
104 SPEECHZS AST) ADDBESSES
in :'? ir? iIts [Great applause.] T^r , ; ! 1 in its
-- ' riirss and the quick saccession vrizL t/ ;li vie-
■ r : - — 1 r'ltoiy! Attained earli-: :1^ _ i: —as
r-i- V . : ^ --/ole; so comprehensive in its sweep
thai eveiy :„ _\.:: i2 man feels the weight of responsi-
bility wL::"_ L ^ >_ ; : sr^ddenlv thmst npon ns. And
above ^V. :: I r :_1 :" tlie v?] r ^f the American
aimy . :„. r. .. " : :„r A:.. . ,n navy and the
majc-:." : :_- .-^:_-rr:::;i. i.:-.n-r s:a: 1 : I'l. in nnsnllied
giorv, while the humanity ci : :: ; : - and the mag-
- : : f onr condnct have given to war. always hor-
n'lr. : 1 _;- of noble generosity. Christian sympathy
'-I :!.:,::- ::il examples of human gnviiriir whica
uur inipe.
J.L
is £rrs,:^v:„j -.. i^el that hTucanlrv
&■
iri_L:i-;ul-I at eveiy step •:; :„.- "^ar's progress. Ap-
plause.]
The t-Tr^ ^: I'lc-l-. ::::.:. Sa:.-:.^: u^d P':rto Eico
haTe mai-r ii::::: ^rtal hist'^iy. TLev are ^orthv succes-
sors an'I ^- -:_ l.,:.-- o: Washington ani Gre-ne : of
Panl Jones. I'-r::„-:r. ai. I Ev/i, and of Gran:, .•^i-rridan,
of Lee, Ja';v:- " a. aa i L :ar-::a-:a Tr aa_ a " ' ■.:^ a: r"aa^>/
Hewnaa.-r- --:-al '■: 'a i^-a-a :-_ i : :".-: nation's
great men "aja.aa--:^, ,,_- :. ^v-;. i_ aa aaa:;,a_va. s'and
the here es :: :ir ":a aaav- :A :!.: ^ a-::a-:le. invin:: 1-r
in bsa - " : a a an a : : a : a ; atk [Great applause.]
T: - .rentj loyalj in a . Idier and sailor and
regular and volunteer, are entitled to eqnal
praise as having done :aeir whole duty, whether at
home or nnder the >jl n :* : reign fire. [Applause.]
Who will dim the ^pi nl.r of their achievements I
OF vrilZAl-l McETSXZT. 105
Who will -vritUiold. from them their well-earned distme-
tion? Wlio •will intmde detraction at this tine t: be-
little the manly spirit of the American yon-h :,i. i in: lir
the usefulness of the American armT? ^^: — 11 -n-
barrass the government by sowing seeas : .:-- .:i;n -
tion among the brave men who staii . : . .. y : serve
and die. if need be. for their country ? "^:: : -vi^ iir^en
the counsels of the republic in this ho::r. r: ::r the
united wisdom of all ? X'heers .._ 1 - . . : j . . ^ .
Shall we deny to ourselves what the rcs: i '.^- ~: :. .
so freely ar. i so justly a : : is to us? - • jiy c:
-Xol"' The men who ^i. ■ ;:?i "n rh- s„ :: -t ie-
cisive straggle its hardships, its priv::: :. = -^ v, . n
field or camp, on ship or in the siege. :n . - : . n..:
achieved its victories, will never tolerate ii ; ..nm.
either direct or indirect, of those vrhj ^ : z i - ; - ~_ se
great gain to civilization is yet iiimi'^'n. :n . ;'-.^^rr:Ttrii.
[Tremendous applause.]
The faith of a Christian nation recognizes the hizi
of Almighty God ia thv ;rdeal through which we hiive
passed. Divine favor seenei nmi'es* e~:~-~v:iere. In
fighting for humanity's s:hie ~-r '..: } ' r^ -:_n:ih"
blessed. We did not seek vrai\ T . :, v . . 1 1; . ii :L : - ; : vh .1
be done in honor and justice to the rights of c-.i iii^n-
bors and ourselves, was our constant prayer. The war
was no more invited by us than were the questions which
are laid at our door by its results. [Grea: i —
y 1 w as then we will do our duty. ' ' -a - ' v ■ : I :i y : . ;. i: ; r
The problems will nc t " - s he i h-i a day. F .: > :: :e wi_
be required— patienov ;i." ::.^ i "h-h sh: : ' ■ i rur-
oOiigation. T .iisii::.^ lo
'.. ,*.t *»
106 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Right action follows right purpose. We may not at
all times be able to divine the future, the way may not
always seem clear ; but if our aims are high and unself-
ish, somehow and in some way the right end will be
reached. The genius of the nation, its freedom, its
wisdom, its humanity, its courage, its justice, favored
by divine Providence, will make it equal to every task
and the master of every emergency. [Long-continued
applause.]
XLIX.
Remarks on Leaving Ojiaha, Nebraska,
October 13, 1898.
3Iy Fellow-Citizens :
You have done so much in the past twenty-four hours
that it will make my visit here one long to be remem-
bered. Nothing has pleased me more than the good
feeling and earnest patriotism everywhere exhibited.
I see that here in Nebraska, as in every other State in
the Union, everybody loves the government and the flag,
and I cannot tell you how hard it is for me to bid you
all good-by. [Great applause.]
Speech at Council Bluffs, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
3Iy Fellow-Citizens:
I am very much gratified at your reception. I have
just come from the great city of the West, and have
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 107
■witnessed a "wonderful exhibition of your genius and
skill and industry, as sliown at the Trans-Mississippi
Exposition. Nothing has given me greater satisfaction,
as I have joiu-neyed through the country, than to look
into the cheerful faces of the people, and to be assured
from their appearance that despaii* no longer hangs over
the West, but that you are having a fair share of pros-
perity, and not only that, but you are having a baptism
of patriotism, in which we all rejoice. [Great applause.]
LI.
Speech at Glenwood, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Felloiv-Gitizens :
I am very glad to meet you and greet you here this
morning. I need not say that I like the flag that you
carry. Whenever you put that flag in the hands of the
boys and the girls you put patriotism in their hearts.
There are two strong and marked phases in the war with
Spain. The one is its heroism, and the other its hu-
manity. The individual valor of the soldier and the
sailor has never been surpassed. Both at Manila and
Santiago, with Dewey's fleet and Sampson's squadron,
there were distinguisliing exhibitions of personal valor
and intrepidity which thrilled all our hearts. So with
the land forces at San Juan and El Caney and Manila ;
so with the marines at Guantanamo. This is the heroic
side.
The other is the humanitarian side. The first ship
to enter the harbor of Santiago after the surrender of
the Spanish forces and army to General Shafter was a
108 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
ship carrying tlie Red Cross flag and laden with food and
provisions and medicines for the suffering inhabitants of
that land. And so all through the war we have mingled
with our heroism our splendid and glorious humanity.
There was no malice in our conflict, there was no
bitterness or resentment connected with it, and when it
was all over we treated our foe as generously as we could
have treated a friend. All this must be inspiring to the
American people. We are a great people. We love
peace, not war ; but when we go to war we send to it the
best and bravest of the country. And Iowa, in this war,
as in the great Civil War, contributed her share of pa-
triotic boys to fight the battles of our country. [Great
applause.]
LII.
Speech at Malvern, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
In the moment that I shall be permitted to stop with
you I desire to thank you for the cordial reception
you have given me this morning. I cannot but recall,
as I journey through the country, the difference between
conditions now and those of thirty-seven years ago.
Then we were at war with each other, one section of
our beloved country fighting against the other ; then the
contest was for the preservation of the Union, and in
that conflict we happily triumphed. Thirty-seven years
later we are engaged in another war, not as a divided
country, but as a united country. North and South vy-
ing with each other in self-sacrificing devotion to the
country and flag ; and united, my fellow-countrymen, we
OP WILLIAM McKINLEY. 109
are invincible, and having stood together against a for-
eign foe, we must stand together until every settlement
of that war shall be finally embodied in a public treaty.
[Great applause.]
LIII.
Rejiarks at Hastings, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
3fy Fellow- Citizens :
It has given me great pleasure, as I have journeyed
through your State, to observe evidences both of pa-
triotism and of prosperity. We have pretty much
everything in this country to make it happy. We have
good money, we have ample revenues, we have unques-
tioned national credit ; but we want new markets, and
as trade follows the flag, it looks very much as if we
were going to have new markets. [Applause.]
LIV.
Speech at Red Oak, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
What nation of the world has more to be thankful for
than ours ? We have material wealth, we have rich and
fertile lands, we have great shops and great factories
that make everything. We have skilled workmen, we
have genius for invention, and in the last thirty years
we have achieved commercial triumphs which have been
the wonder of the world. We have much to be thank-
ful for. We have come out of events of the last five
110 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
months glorious in our victories, and more glorious in
the results which are to follow them. We are fortunate
in the virtue of our people and in the valor of our sol-
diers and sailors.
We have been patriotic in every crisis of our history,
and never more so than from April, 1898, to the present
hour. But our patriotism must be continued. We
must not permit it to abate, but we must stand
unitedly until every settlement of the recent contest
shall be written in enduring form, and shall record a
triumph for civilization and humanity. [Great applause.]
I am glad to be at the home of that gallant young
hero who went down in the harbor of Havana, Engineer
Merritt. I am glad to pay a fitting tribute to him and
to all the other heroes of the war. His name and his
fame will be sacredly guarded by his own neighbors and
fellow-citizens, and will always be held in remembrance
by a grateful people. [Great applause.]
LV.
Speech at Corning, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It gives me great pleasure to meet you all and
be greeted by you as I pass through Iowa. We have
been seeing something in the last forty-eight hours of
the vastness and the wealth of this mighty empire of
the West, and I congratulate you upon the evidences of
prosperity and of progress that have been constantly
presented to me.
Iowa is not only great in its material possessions,—
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. hi
in its farms and its factories,— but it is great in its
influence on the nation. From the period of your
admission into the American Union as a State, you
have had marked influence on national legislation and
national administration ; and I know of no State in the
country to-day that has greater influence in public affairs,
through its senators and its representatives in Congress,
than this great State of Iowa. [Great applause.]
LVI.
Speech at Creston, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Felloiv-Citkens :
The cheerful faces of this great assemblage give me as-
surance of what I have ah'eady known, that the business
and industrial and agricultural conditions of the country
are those of confidence. I do not know a period of our
history when the country enjoyed more real and sub-
stantial prosperity than it does to-day. The job hunts
the man, not the man the job. When that condition
exists labor is always better rewarded. In every one of
the great industries of the country we are feeling a
degree of prosperity which gives hope and confidence to
aU of our people. Not only are the people reasonably
prosperous, but the government in which we are all
interested is alike prosperous. Our financial condition
was never better than it is now. Our national credit
was never so high as it is now, and the people of the
United States were well enough off— when the govern-
ment wanted two hundred millions of dollars with which
to conduct the war— to subscribe for foui'teen hundred
112 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
million dollars' worth of bonds [lond and prolonged
cheering], and a bond at a lower rate of interest than
was ever sold by the government of the United States
before. Our revenues are not troubling us any more
[laughter and applause], and our enemy is not troubhng
us much more [laughter and loud applause]. We
have got along fairly well thus far, thanks to the patriot-
ism of the American people, and thanks to the valor and
the courage and the heroism of the hojs of Iowa and of
the other States of the American Union.
My fellow-citizens, I want to leave one more thought
with you, and that is, as we have been united and there-
fore strong and invincible in the war, we must continue
united until the end of this struggle ; we must have no
differences among ourselves while we are settling differ-
ences with another government. When we have made
that settlement in the interest of justice and civilization
and humanity, then we can resume our own domestic dif-
ferences.
I want to say in this presence and before this as-
semblage that, in all the trying months through which
we have just passed, the President of the United States
had the faithful support of the representatives of the
people of Iowa in the Congress of the United States.
[Great applause.]
LVII.
Remarks at Osceola, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I do not think you appreciate how much good your
presence in such vast numbers all along our journey has
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 113
been to the President of the United States. If he can
feel that he has the support and the confidence of his
countrymen, irrespective of party, I think he will have
courage for any duty ; for whenever a great problem is
presented to them, the people are sui-e to be right in
their ultimate judgment. I thank you for the pleasure
of looking into your faces this morning, and bid you
good day. [Applause.]
LVIII.
Speech at Chariton, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
Until my visit to your State I do not think I ever ap-
preciated fuUy the size and population of Iowa. The vast
assemblages that have everywhere greeted us with their
good will have been both touching and inspiring. It gives
me great pleasure to see the men and the women, the old
and the young, as they gather under the flag of the free
to renew once more their devotion to country and our
free institutions. It gives me especial pleasure to meet
with the school-children, the boys and the girls, those who
in a little while must take up the trust now in the hands
of the older of us, and carry forward this great govern-
ment. These little people who gather about us, who
are in the public schools, ai-e to be educated for future
citizenship ; for out of the school-house, in all of our
history, have come the statesmen, the business men, the
soldiers, and the farmers that have done so much for
this country.
We have been fortunate as a nation in the last six
months. We have made much progress in a very short
8
114 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
time. We have almost lost sight of the fact, in talk-
ing about the war, that we have made some very sub-
stantial gains without resort to arms. We have Hawaii,
that came to us free and indei^endent, and asked to be
annexed ; and I have no doubt the teachers in the public
schools have already revised the maps so as to include
this new addition to the United States. And, my fellow-
citizens, wherever our flag floats, wherever we raise that
standard of liberty, it is always for the sake of humanity
and the advancement of civilization. Territory some-
times comes to us when we go to war in a holy cause,
and whenever it does the banner of liberty will float
over it and bring, I trust, blessings and benefits to all
the people. [Great applause.]
LIX.
Speech at Ottumwa, Iowa, October 13, 1898.
Mi/ Felloiv-Citizens :
I wish I had the voice to make myself heard by this
great assemblage of my countrymen. I recall with the
pleasantest memory a visit I made to your city seven
years ago, and I still carry in recollection the warmth of
welcome you extended to me. I think there are more
people here to-day than were present at the meeting to
which I refer. At that time we were considering a great
economic question. That question has, happily, been
settled, and settled on the side of the people. We
have been setthng a great many things in the past few
months. We have been settling some foreign complica-
tions. We settled the question as to whether the Anieri-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 115
can flag shall float over Hawaii [great applause], and
the flag is floating there to-day, in all its beauty and in
all its glory, over a happy and contented people, who
wanted to be annexed to the United States because they
loved our institutions. For more than half a century
we had in Cuba a disturbing question lying at our very
door— ten years of continuous revolution during the
administration of President Grant, followed by a three
years' revolution of recent date. That, too, has been
settled [applause], and that which disturbed so long the
peace and tranquillity of the American government, and
interfered with our legitimate trade, has now been ended.
[Great applause.]
Now, what we have to do is to be wise about the fu- 1
ture. We have been united up to this hour ; we do not '
want to be divided now. And we want the best wisdom!
of the whole country, the best statesmanship of the'
country, and the best public sentiment of the country',
to help determine what the duty of the American na- \
tion is, and when that is once determined, we will do it
without fear or hesitation. [Great applause.]
LX.
Speech at Monmouth, Illinois, October 13, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I quite despair of making my voice heard by this great
audience, but whether you hear mine or not, I have heard
yours of hearty welcome, and thank you.
The American name was never higher than it is now,
and American citizenship was never dearer to its pos-
116 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
sessor, nor fraught with graver responsibilities. The
army and the navy from Manila to Santiago have nobly
performed their duty. It is left for the citizens of this
country to do theu*s. May God give us the wisdom
to perform our part with fidelity, not only to our own
interests, but to the interests of those who, by the for-
tunes of war, are brought within the radius of our in-
fluence. [Applause.]
LXI.
Speech at Galesburg, Illinois, October 13, 1898.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
It gives me uncommon pleasure to meet and greet
this great audience of patriotic citizens of Galesburg.
I am glad to meet the young men of the colleges who
are here to-night. I am glad to greet the old volun-
teers of the Civil War and the new volunteers of the
Spanish War, and not the least of my pleasure is that I
have been permitted to meet here in your city the com-
mander of that splendid army in front of Santiago,
Major-General Shafter. [Great applause.] I hope he
has told the story of heroism at San Juan hill and El
Caney [continued applause], and other points of thrill-
ing interest in that near-by island which, through the
valor of his soldiers and the wisdom of the commander,
brought to his country such a magnificent triumph.
Somehow there is always a man raised for the hour.
When the Merrimac was to be sunk there was a brave
lieutenant of the navy ready to sacrifice his life in the
accomplishment of that heroic deed. [Cheers.] When
the war came on there were two hundred thousand volun-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 117
teers within sixty days marcliing under tlie banner of
freedom, ready to go anywhere, ready to make any sacri-
fice for the honor of the country and for humanity. And
in every emergency to which this country has ever been
subjected, the people have risen to the highest measure
of duty and of opportunity.
We have grave responsibilities yet resting upon us.
The heroes of Manila and Santiago and Porto Rico have
done their part nobly and well. It remains for us citi-
zens of the United States to do our part. And now,
having said this much, I give way that you may have the
pleasure of seeing and hearing members of the Cabinet
and others who have been accompanying me on this
long journey. I cannot forbear to say that nothing has
so impressed and inspired me as the noble, patriotic spirit
of the people of the United States, not only in the North,
but in the South. [Applause.] Never was a people so
united in purpose, in heart, in sympathy, and in love as
the American people to-day. One thing yet is left for
us to do, and that is to remain shoulder to shoulder
until there shall be secured in the treaty of peace all
the fruits of this great war. [Great applause.]
LXII.
Speech at the Merchants' Exchange, St. Louis,
Missouri, October 14, 1898.
Mr. President, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen :
I thank you all most cordially for the warm welcome
you have given me to your city, and I congratulate you
upon the good feeling and the uplifting spirit every-
118 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
where found tliroiiglioiit the length and breadth of our
common country. Thank God, we are all together once
more. [Applause.] "We have one flag and one destiny,
and wherever that destiny shaU lead us we will have
hearts strong enough to meet its responsibilities. [Ap-
plause.] We cannot enjoy the glories of victory without
bearing whatever burdens it imposes, feeling assured
they will carry blessings to the people.
We were never so weU off as we are to-day. Indus-
trial despair no longer hangs over us. We have gone
from business depression to business prosperity. We
have gone from labor hunting employment to employ-
ment hunting labor. [Applause.] A most blessed
country we have; and resting upon all of us is the
duty of maintaining it unimpaired, while carrying for-
ward the great trust of civilization that has been com-
mitted :to us. We must gather the just fruits of the
victory. We must pursue duty step by step. We must
follow the light as God has given us to see the light, and
he has singularly guided us, not only from the begin-
ning of our great government, but down through every
crisis to the present hour ; and I am sure it is the prayer
of every American that he shall still guide and direct
us. [Applause.]
OF WILLLiM McKINLEY. 119
LXIII.
Speech in the Coliseoi, St. Louis, Missouri,
October 14, 1898.
3fy Felloiv-Citizens :
My former visits to St. Louis are full of pleasant
memories. My present one I sliaU never forget. It has
warmed my heart and given me encouragement for
greater effort to administer the trust which I hold for
my country. My first visit was in 1888, and then again
in 1892, both of which afforded me an opportunity of
becoming acquainted with your people, and of observing
the substantial character of your enterprising city. I
omitted my quadrennial visit in 1896 for reasons which
were obvious to you, and have always been thankful
that my absence seemed to have created no prejudice in
your minds. [Laughter and applause.]
I remember, on the occasion of a former visit, in com-
pany with Governor Francis and other citizens, to have
witnessed the assembled pupils of the schools of the city
at your great fair. It was an inspiring sight, and it
has never been effaced from recollection. As I looked
into the thousands of young faces of the boys and the
girls, preparing themselves for citizenship, I had my
faith confirmed in the stability of our institutions. [Ap-
plause.] I saw them to-day as I drove about your city,
with the flag in their hands, and heard their voices
ringing with the song we love—
My country, 't is of thee,
Sweet land of liberty.
120 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
To the youth of the country trained in the schools,
which happily are opened to all, must we look to carry
forward the fabric of government. It is fortunate for
us that our republic appeals to the best and noblest
aspirations of its citizens, and makes all things possible
to the worthy and industrious youth.
The personal interest and participation of our citizen-
ship in the conduct of the government make its condi-
tion always absorbing and interesting.
It must be a matter of great gratification to the people
of the United States to know that the national credit
was never better than now, while the national name was
never dearer to us, and never more respected by others
the world over. For the first time in the country's
history the government has sold a three-per-cent. bond,
every dollar of which was taken at par. This bond is now
at a premium of five cents on the dollar ; and the profit
has gone to the people. [Applause.] The loan was a
popular one, and it has been a source of much satis-
faction that the people, with then* surplus savings,
were able to buy the bonds. It is an interesting fact
that while we offered but two hundred millions of bonds
for sale, over fourteen hundred millions were subscribed
by the people of the country, and by the terms of sale
no one was able to receive bonds in excess of five
thousand dollars. [Applause.]
It is not without significance, too, that the govern-
ment has not been required, since 1896, to borrow any
money for its current obligations until the war with
Spain, while its available balance, October 1, 1898, was
upward of three hundred and seven millions, of which
sum over two hundred and forty-three millions were in
gold. Nothing more impressed the nations of the world
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 121
than the appropriation of a large national defense fund
which the Treasury was able to pay from its balance,
without resort to a loan. While the credit and finance
of the government have improved, the business condi-
tions of the people have also happily improved. We
are more cheerful, more happy, more contented. Both
government and citizens have shared in the general pros-
perity. The circulation of the country on the 1st of July,
1898, was larger than it had ever been before in our his-
tory. It is not so large to-day as then, but the reason for
it is that the people put a part of that circulation in the
Treasury to meet the government bonds which they hold
in their hands. /^
The people have borne the additional taxation made
necessary by the war with the same degree of patriotism
that characterized the soldiers who enlisted to fight the
country's battles. [Applause.] We have not only pros-
pered in every material sense, but we have established
a sentiment of good feeling and a spirit of brother-
hood such as the nation has not enjoyed since the ear-
lier years of its history. My countrymen, not since the''™^
beginning of the agitation of the question of slavery has
there been such a common bond in name and purpose,
such genuine affection, such a unity of the sections,
such obliteration of party and geographical divisions.
National pride has been again enthroned; national
patriotism has been restored; the national Union ce-
mented closer and stronger ; the love for the old flag
enshrined in all hearts. North and South have mingled
their best blood in a common cause, and to-day rejoice
in a common victory. [Great applause.] Happily for
the nation to-day, they follow the same glorious banner,
together fighting and dying under its sacred folds for
122 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
American honor and for tlie humanity of the race.
[Loud and prolonged applause.]
We must guard this restored Union with zealous and
sacred care, and, while awaiting the settlements of the
war and meeting the problems which will follow, we
must stand as Americans, not in the spirit of party, and
unite in a common effort for that which will give to the
nation its widest influence in the sphere of activity and
usefulness to which the war has assigned it. My fellow-
citizens, let nothing distract us ; let no discordant voice
intrude to embarrass us in the solution of the mighty
problems which involve such vast consequences to our-
selves and posterity. Let us remember that God bestows
supreme opportunity upon no nation which is not ready
to respond to the call of supreme duty. [Prolonged ap-
plause.]
LXIV.
Speech at Terre Haute, Indiana, October 15, 1898.
3Iy Fellow-Citisens :
I have no expectation of making myself heard by this
vast assemblage. I thank you for this warm and hearty
reception at so early an hour of the morning. It gives
me peculiar pleasure to meet again the citizens of the
city of Terre Haute, and not the least element of that
pleasure is that it gives me an opportunity of meeting
my old friend, your neighbor, the veteran statesman
and patriot, Hon. Richard W. Thompson. I do not
forget that this was the home of that other distinguished
Indianian, whose eloquence moved Senates and swayed
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 123
great audiences, and whose friendship I enjoj-ed, Hon.
Daniel W. Voorhees.
For seven days we have been traveling tlirough the
great West, and, everywhere we have gone, great assem-
blages like this have greeted us, I do not misinterpret
it. I know what it means. It has no personal signifi-
cance, but it does have a national significance, and it
means that all the people of all the sections are
once more united under one flag, united in purpose
and patriotism. It means, my fellow-citizens, that the
people of the United States want the victories of the
army and of the navy to be recognized in the treaty of
peace. It means that they want those of us who are
charged with the administration of the government to
see to it that the war was not in vain, and that the just
fruits of our achievements on land and sea shall not be
lost. [Great applause.]
LXV.
Speech at Paris, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I am glad to greet the citizens of Paris. If no word
was spoken, the flag you carry would proclaim your faith
in our common country, and the glowing patriotism
which is in every heart. We have but one duty to per-
form, and that is to stand by the flag, and fortunately
for us, in every part of the country, in every section of
the country, all the people are standing beneath the
folds of that glorious old banner— united under it in
peace and fighting under it in war. [Great applause.]
124 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
LXVI.
Speech at Arcola, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
We are a most fortunate people. We not only have a
revival of patriotism among the people, but we have a
return of prosperity to the country. Our business con-
ditions are good at home, and our trade is good abroad.
The producer has more and better consumers than he
had a few years ago. That is because the business of
the country has been restored. The factories and the
shops and the great productive enterprises are again at
work, so that you have consumers at home as well as
abroad. We sold last year to Europe more than we
bought of Europe. [Applause.] We sent more American
products to the Old World, produced and made in the
United States by our own labor, than we ever sent out of
the country in any year in all our history ; and more than
three fourths of our exportation s came from the fields
and farms of the United States. And here, in your city
of Areola, you know what it means to have a foreign
market. When you cannot sell your broom-corn in our
own country, you are glad to send the sm-plus to some
other countr}^, and get their good money for your good
broom-corn.
My fellow-citizens, we have resting upon us as a
people grave problems, and it is our business to solve
them wisely, and the people can help to do so, because
whenever they consider calmly and soberly any great
question, they are unerring in judgment. Mr. Lincoln
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 125
followed tlie people, and following them he made no
mistake. We have had great glory out of the war, and
in its settlements we must be guided only by the de-
mands of right and conscience and duty. [Great ap-
plause.] And when we have settled the problems of the
war, our next triumphs must be those of commerce,
not by arms, but by our superior advantages, and by
the skill and genius and energy of our people. [Con-
tinued applause.]
I thank you for this cordial reception, and am glad to
know that all the people of all the country are stand-
ing together, and mean to be united so long as vast
problems remain unsolved. [Prolonged applause.]
LXVII.
Speech at Decatur, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
3Iy FelloiV'Citizens :
I am thankful for the warm greeting accorded by this
vast concourse of my countrymen. The central thought
in every American mind to-day is the war and its residts.
The gratitude of every American heart goes out to our
army and navy. [Applause.] What a magnificent army
was mustered in less than sixty days ! More than two
hundred thousand soldiers responded to the call of
country, coming from the homes of our fellow-citizens
everywhere, the bravest and the best, willing to go into
foreign territory to fight for the honor of our flag and
for oppressed humanity. [Applause.] There was no
break in our column. There was no division in any
part of the country. North and South and East and
126 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
West alike cheerfully responded; and then what vic-
tories were achieved in a little more than three months !
[Applause.] Our troops sailed seven thousand miles
away to Manila and won a signal victory. [Applause.]
Our troops sailed to Cuba and achieved a glorious
triumph. [Applause.] Oui* fleets in Manila Bay and San-
tiago harbor destroyed two Spanish fleets without the
loss of a ship, and the brilliancy of both victories is not
paralleled in the annals of war, [Great applause.] And
all in a little over one hundred days ! That is what our
army and navy did. Now it only remains for the citi-
zens of the republic to be as wise in statesmanship as
our soldiers and sailors have been valorous in arms.
[Prolonged applause.]
LXVIII.
Speech at Springfield, Illinois, October 15, 1898,
My Fellow-Citizens :
With grateful appreciation I acknowledge the gen-
erous words of welcome uttered in your behalf by the
governor of the State [Governor Tanner] and by yom*
distinguished senator [Senator Cullom], I am glad to
meet the people of Illinois at their State capital. I
am glad to be at the home of the martyred President.
His name is an inspiration, and a holy one, to all lovers
of liberty the world over. He saved the Union. He
liberated a race— a race which he once said ought to be
free because there might come a time when these black men
could help keep the jcAvel of liberty within the famUy of
freedom. If any vindication of that act or of that
prophecy were needed, it was found when these brave
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 127
black men ascended the liill of San Juan in Cuba and
charged the enemy at El Caney, [Great applause.]
They vindicated their own title to liberty on that field,
and, with our other brave soldiers, gave the priceless
gift of hberty to another suffering race. My fellow-
citizens, the name of Lincoln will live forever in immor-
tal story. His fame, his work, his life, are not only an
inspiration to every American boy and girl, but to all
mankind. [Great applause.] And what an encourage-
ment his life-work has been to all of his successors in
the j3residential office ! If any one of them, at any time,
has felt that his burden was heavy, he had but to reflect
upon the greater burdens of Abraham Lincoln to make
his own seem light. My fellow-citizens, I congratulate
you that your great State furnished him to the country
and the world. You guard his sacred ashes here, but the
whole country guards with you his sacred memory.
I congratulate you upon the condition of the country.
It was never better than it is to-day. Our national
finances give us no trouble. We have all necessary
money now with which to do the business of the govern-
ment. [Applause.] And the government is secure in
its finances, thanks to the people for having accepted the
war taxes patriotically. The business of the people is
better than it has been for years, and the money of the
country has suffered no dishonor, while the credit of
the government was never higher, and the national name
never dearer to our people than now, and never more
respected throughout the world. AU thanks to the
army and navy ; thanks to the fleets of Dewey and Samp-
son, and the armies of Miles and of Shafter and of Mer-
ritt. [Great applause.] We have won great triumphs
for humanity. We went to war, not because we wanted
128 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
to, but because humanity demanded it. And having
gone to war for humanity's sake, we must accept no
settlement that will not take into account the interests
of humanity. [Continued applause.]
Now, my friends, what we want is to have no dispute
or differences among ourselves to interfere with our
united judgment in dealing with "the foreign problems
that are before us. As we stood together in war, let us
stand together until its settlements are made. [Long-
continued applause.]
LXIX.
Speech at Clinton, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
I was told that this was a city of only five thousand
people. I am prepared now to disbelieve it. I am
gratified to meet the constituents and neighbors and
fellow-citizens of your representative in Congress [Rep-
resentative Warner] at his home. We are all of us proud
of our country, proud of its past, of its commercial and
industrial achievements. What wonderful growth and
progress we have made ! The State of Illinois has to-day
a population greater than that of the thirteen original
colonies. We have grown from a little more than three
millions of people to seventy-five millions. We have be-
come the greatest agricultural and maniif acturing nation
of the world. We have been making progress at rapid
strides in all the arts of peace. We have a nation from
whose history we need not turn away. We can study it
with pride and profit. We can look back without regret
or humiliation, and forward with hope and confidence.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 129
/The past of our country is glorious. What it shall be in
the future rests with you— rests with the whole people. y
Your voice, when constitutionally expressed, is com-
manding and conclusive. It is the mandate of law. It
is the law to Congress and to the Executive. May that
voice be that of right and truth and justice ! I am sure
it will be so, and if it is, we need have no fear for the
future of our country. [Great applause.]
LXX.
Speech at Gilivl^n, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
With the pleasantest recollection I recaU my former
visit at this place. It was just about this time in the
year and this time of the evening four years ago. That
period is very short in the life of a nation, yet very
much has happened in these four years. I hope that
that which has happened does not meet with your dis-
approval. We have settled the revenue legislation. We
have a comfortable balance in the Treasury. We
have an unexcelled public credit. We have put the flag
over Hawaii. We have had, too, a short and decisive
war— brilliant in its victories both on land and on sea ;
and we have added new names to the nation's roll of
honor. It is our business to dedicate ourselves to the
task yet unfinished. The army and the navy have per-
formed their part. May we be able as well and honorably
to perform ours, and may we bring to the yet unfinished
task the best conscience and the best intelligence of the
country. [Great applause.]
130 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
LXXI.
Speech at Kankakee, Illinois, October 15, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
This is not my first visit to your city. On the former
occasion, just about four years ago, I was presented
to a great assemblage by your distinguished repre-
sentative in Congress [Representative Cannon], whom I
had hoped to have the pleasure of meeting here to-night.
Illinois has a great history. She has been potential in
national policies and in national councils from her ad-
mission into the Union as a State. In war or in peace
she has been conspicuous always. She had Grant and
Oglesby and Logan and Palmer and McClernand in the
Civil War ; and in our recent war the boys from Illinois
responded cheerfully to the call of country to go any-
where to maintain the public honor and give freedom
to an oppressed people. It is a remarkable fact that
this State was the center of public thought for more
than a decade. Lincoln and Douglas represented the
two opposing schools of politics. Their famous debate
was an education for the young men and the old men of
the country, and had as much to do with shaping and
molding public opinion as any other event I can now re-
call. And yet, when the nation was in peril, those two
great leaders opposing each other came together, united
for the Union and the flag. [Great applause.]
OF wiLLiAJVi Mckinley. isi
LXXII.
Speech at the Auditoriuivi, Chicago,
October 18, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I have been deeply moved by tliis great demonstra-
tion. I have been deeply touched by the words of pa-
triotism that have been so eloquently uttered by the dis-
tinguished men in your presence. It is gratifying to all
of us to know that this has never ceased to be a war of
humanity. The last ship that went out of the harbor
of Havana before the war began was an American
ship that had taken to the suffering people of Cuba the
supplies furnished by American charity. [Applause.]
And the first ship to sail into the harbor of Santiago was
an American ship bearing food-supplies to the suffer-
ing Cubans. [Applause.] I am sure it is the universal
prayer of American citizens that justice and humanity
and civilization shall characterize the final settlement
of peace, as they have distinguished the progress of the
war. [Applause.]
My countrymen, the currents of destiny flow through
the hearts of the people. Who will check them ? Who
will divert them? Who will stop them? And the
movements of men, planned and designed by the Master
of men, will never be interrupted by the American
people. [Great applause.]
132 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
LXXIII.
Remaeks to Gathering in Front of Union League
Club, Chicago, October 19, 1898.
My FeJloiv-Citisens :
I have heard with pride and satisfaction the cheers of
the multitude as the veterans of the Civil War on both
sides of the contest have been reviewed. [Great ap-
plause.] I have witnessed with increasing pride this wild
acclaim as you have watched the volunteers and the reg-
idars and our naval reserves — the guardians of the peo-
ple on land and sea— pass before your eyes. The demon-
stration of to-day is worth everything— everything to our
country, for I read in the faces and hearts of my country-
men the purpose to see to it that this government, with
its free institutions, " shall not perish from the earth."
[Great applause.]
I wish I might take the hand of every patriotic man,
woman, and child here to-day. [Applause.] But I can-
not do that. [A voice : '' But you 've got our hearts."
Prolonged cheering.] And so I leave with you not only
my thanks, but the thanks of this great nation, for your
patriotism and devotion to the flag. [Great cheering.]
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 133
LXXIV.
Speech at the Citizens' Banquet in the Auditorium,
Chicago, October 19, 1898.
Mr. Toastniaster, Ladies and Gentlemen :
It affords me gratification to meet the people of the
city of Chicago, and to participate with them in this
patriotic celebration. Upon the suspension of hostilities
of a foreign war, the first in our history for over half a
century, we have met in a spirit of peace, profoundly
grateful for the glorious advancement already made,
and earnestly wishing in the final termination to realize
an equally glorious fulfilment.
With no feeling of exultation, but with profound
thankfulness, we contemplate the events of the past five
months. They have been too serious to admit of boast-
ing or vainglorification. They have been so full of re-
sponsibilities, immediate and prospective, as to admonish
the soberest judgment and counsel the most conservative
action. This is not the time to fire the imagination, but
rather to discover in calm reason the way to truth and
justice and right, and, when discovered, to follow it
with fidelity and courage, without fear, hesitation, or
weakness.
The war has put upon the nation grave responsibili-
ties. Their extent was not anticipated, and could not
have been well foreseen. "We cannot escape the obliga-
tions of victory. We cannot avoid the serious questions
which have been brought home to us by the achievements
of our arms on land and sea. We are bound in con-
134 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
science to keep and perform the covenants which the
■war has sacredly sealed with mankind. Accepting war
for humanity's sake, we must accept all obligations
which the war in duty and honor imposed upon us. The
splendid victories we have achieved would be our eternal
shame and not our everlasting glory if they led to the
weakening of our original lofty purpose, or to the de-
sertion of the immortal principles on which the national
government was founded, and in accordance with whose
ennobling spirit it has ever since been faithfully ad-
ministered.
The war with Spain was undertaken, not that the
United States should increase its territory, but that
oppression at our very doors should be stopped. This
noble sentiment must continue to animate us, and we
must give to the world the full demonstration of the sin-
cerity of our purpose.
Duty determines destiny. Destiny which results from
duty performed may bring anxiety and perils, but never
failure and dishonor. Pursuing duty may not always
lead by smooth paths. Another course may look easier
and more attractive, but pursuing duty for duty's sake
is always sure and safe and honorable.
It is not within the power of man to foretell the future
and to solve unerringly its mighty problems. Almighty
God has his plans and methods for human progress, and
not infrequently they are shrouded for the time being in
impenetrable mystery. Looking backward, we can see
how the hand of destiny builded for us and assigned us
tasks whose full meaning was not apprehended even by
the wisest statesmen of their times. Our colonial an-
cestors did not enter upon their war originally for in-
dependence. Abraham Lincoln did not start out to free
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 135
the slaves, but to save the Union. The war with Spain
was not of our seeking, and some of its consequences
may not be to our liking. Our vision is often defective.
Short-sightedness is a common malady, but the closer
we get to things or they get to us, the clearer our view
,and the less obscure our duty. Patriotism must be
faithful as well as fervent ; statesmanship must be wise
as weU as fearless— not the statesmanship which will
command the applause of the hour, but the judgment of
posterity.
The progress of a nation can alone prevent degenera-
tion. There must be new life and purpose or there will
be weakness and decay. There must be broadening of
thought as well as broadening of trade. Territorial ex-
pansion is not alone and always necessary to national
advancement. There must be a constant movement
toward a higher and nobler civilization, a civilization
that shall make its conquests without resort to war,
and achieve its greatest victories pursuing the arts of
peace. In our present situation, duty and duty alone
should prescribe the boundary of our responsibihties
and the scope of our undertakings. J
The final determination of our purposes awaits the
action of the eminent men who are charged by the Ex-
ecutive with the making of the treaty of peace, and that
of the Senate of the United States, which, by our Con-
stitution, must ratify and confirm it. We all hope and
pray that the confirmation of peace will be as just and
humane as the conduct and consummation of the war.
When the work of the treaty-makers is done, the work of
the lawmakers will begin. The one will settle the
extent of our responsibilities, the other must provide
the legislation to meet them. The army and navy have
136 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
nobly and heroically performed their part. May God
give the Executive and Congress wisdom to perform
theirs !
LXXV.
Speech at First Regiment Armory, Chicago, before
THE Allied Organizations of Railroad Employees,
October 20, 1898.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I count myself most fortunate to have the privilege
of meeting with the allied railroad organizations as-
sembled in this great metropolis. I have had in the
last ten days very many most interesting and pleasant
experiences, as I have journeyed through the country ;
but I assure you that none of them has given me greater
pleasure than to meet the men and the women con-
nected with the operation of the great railroads of the
country. It is fortunate, too, that this body of rep-
resentative men and women should have assembled in
this city at a time when the people are celebrating the
suspension of hostOities, and their desire for an honor-
able and just and triumphant peace. The railroad men
of the country have always been for the country; the
railroad men of the country have always been for the
flag of the country ; and in every crisis of our national
history, in war or in peace, the men from your great
organizations have been loyal and faithful to every duty
and obligation. [Applause.]
Yours is at once a profession of great risk and of
great responsibility. I know of no occupation in the
field of human endeavor that carries with it graver obli-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 137
gations and higher responsibilities than that of the men
who sit about me to-day. You transport the commerce
of the country ; you carry its rich treasures from the
Atlantic to the Pacific ; and you carry daily and hourly
the freightage of humanity that trust you, trust your
integrity, your intelligence, your fidelity, for the safety
of their lives and of their loved ones. And I congratu-
late the country that in this system, so interwoven with
the every-day life of the citizen and the republic, we
have men of such splendid character and ability and
intelligence.
I bring to you to-day not only my good will, but the
good will and respect of seventy-five millions of Amer-
ican citizens. Yoiu- work is ever before a critical public.
You go in and out every day before your countrymen,
and you have earned from them deserved and unstinted
praise for your fidelity to the great interests of the peo-
ple whom you serve and of the roads which you operate.
The virtue of the people lies at the foundation of the
republic. The power of the republic is in the American
fireside. The virtue that comes out from the holy altar
of home is the most priceless gift this nation has ; and
when the judgments of the people are spoken through
the homes of the people, they command the Congress and
the Executive, and at last crystallize into public law.
I thank you, my fellow-citizens, for your cordial greet-
ing, and I congratulate you upon the evidences of re-
turning prosperity everywhere to be seen. The figures
read by your chairman represent the growth of the
great railroad system of the country. What you want,
what we all want, is business prosperity. When you
have that you have something to do. When you have
it not you are idle.
138 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
There are few '' empties " now on the side-tracks, and
so there are few railroad men unemployed. The more
you use the freight-car the oftener you see the pay-car.
[Applause.]
I am glad to observe the First Illinois here with you
to-day. That gallant regiment, made up of the volun-
teers from the homes of Chicago, took their lives into
their hands and went to Santiago to fight the battles of
liberty for an oppressed people. I am glad to have this
opportunity to greet them, to congratulate and to thank
them in the name of the American people. [Great
applause.]
And now, having said this much, I bid you know that
I will carry from this place, from this audience, from
these warm-hearted men and women, one of the pleas-
antest memories of my long trip through the West.
[Loud and prolonged cheering.]
LXXVI.
Remarks to Chicago Committee on International
Arbitration, Chicago, October 20, 1898.
Gentlemen :
I am indeed very glad to meet this representative
delegation, and give you the assurance that the subject
of your memorial shall enlist my early and earnest con-
sideration. You are doubtless aware that I have in-
formed the Czar of Russia that the United States will
be represented in this proposed congress of peace. I
suppose it might not be inappropriate, when we form
our commission, to constitute it generously from you
Chicago gentlemen who are so thoroughly interested
OF WILLIAM McKLNXEY. 139
in the issue with which it will deal; but we will take
this up later. I don't want to take any of you by
surprise.
LXXVII.
Speech at Logansport, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
Ml/ Fellow-Citizens :
About a week ago I entered your State at eight
o'clock in the morning, and was greeted by tens of
thousands of people in the city of Terre Haute. An hour
earlier in the day I meet this great throng of my fellow-
countrymen. But since Dewey entered Manila Bay on
that early morning in May, there has been no hour too
early for the people of the United States to assemble to
rejoice over our national victories and to manifest their
desire for an honorable and triumphant peace. [Ap-
plause.] The flag never seemed so dear to us as it does
now, and it never floated over so many places as it does
now. [Applause.] As I have journeyed through the coun-
try I have rejoiced at the patriotism of the people. The
flag of our country is in every man's hands and patriotism
is in every man's heart. [Aj^plause.] That is a good
omen for our country. Our army and our navy have
done brilliant service, have added new honors to the
American name, have given a new meaning to American
valor ; and it only remains for us, the people, who in a
country like ours are masterful when they speak, to do
the rest, and to embody in honorable treaty the just
fruitage of this war. [Great applause.]
140 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
LXXVIII.
Speech at Kokomo, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
For your warm and cordial welcome I thank you most
sincerely. I do not misinterpret its meaning. It means
that the people of this community are standing together
for country and for civilization. The war has made us
a united people. We present a spectacle of seventy-five
millions of people, representing every race and nation-
ality and section, united in one faith and under one
flag, and that the glorious old Stars and Stripes we love
so much. And we must continue to stand together.
So long as we have any differences abroad we must
have none at home. Whenever we get through with
our differences with another nation, then it will be time
for us to resume our old disputes at home. Until
that time we must stand for a common purpose,
until the settlements of the war shall be embodied in
the permanent form of a public treaty. [Applause.]
We commenced the war, not for gain or greed or
new possessions. We commenced it for freedom and
to relieve our neighbors of oppression. [Applause.]
And, having accomplished that, we must assume all
the responsibilities that justly belong to that war,
whatever they may be. I am sure that the people
of this country, without regard to party, setting aside
all differences and distinctions, will remain together
until we shall finally settle the terms of peace. [Great
applause.] I recall with peculiar satisfaction this
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 141
morning, as I look into the faces of my countrymen
from Indiana, the promptness with which your people
responded to the call of the President after the declara-
tion of war. [Loud cheering.] Within twenty-four
hours from the receipt of that call your quota was full
and in camp, and fifty thousand young men were ready
to enlist under the banner of freedom. [Loud and pro-
longed cheers.] I thank you all, in the name of the
nation, for your patriotic devotion to the country.
[Great applause.]
LXXIX.
Speech at Tipton, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
Ily Fellow-Citizens :
I am both pleased and honored with the cordial recep-
tion given to me by the people of Indiana. I congratu-'
late the whole country upon the revival of the national
spirit, and also upon the return of better times. I have
been glad to note, as I have traveled through the great
West, that despair no longer hangs over the business
interests of the country, but that all the people look out
into the future with hope and with confidence. [Ap-
plause.] We have had such a revival of patriotism in
this country as we have never had since the earliest days
of our history. For the first time for more than half a
century. North and South are united in holy alliance,
with one aim, with one purpose, and with one determina-
tion—to stand by the government of the United States.
[Applause.] That is what the war has done for the people
of the United States. What it has done for other peoples
142 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
has yet to be determined. But as I look into your earnest
faces I know that you would have this nation help the
oppressed people who have by the war been brought
within the sphere of our influence. [Applause.] Here
in this great gas belt I am reminded of what nature
has done for your great manufactories. I congratulate
you again upon the prospect for better business in the
United States. It is a great thing for the farmer to
have men employed in shop and factory. [Applause.]
It is a great thing for men to be employed ; and I have
discovered that when the employer seeks labor, labor
gets better pay than when the laborer seeks employ-
ment. [Applause.] And now, having said this much,
and grateful to you for this splendid reception, I bid
you all good morning. [Great applause.]
LXXX.
Speech at Atlanta, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
3fy FeTloiv-Citizens :
It gives me uncommon pleasure to meet my country-
men and the constituents of my friend and your friend.
Representative Landis. This, I believe, is one of the
towns in Indiana where they make tin-plate. Am I
right? [Cries of ''Right!"] I heartily congratulate
you upon the establishment of this successful industry
in the United States. It has done some things for the
country. It has given employment to many working-
men. It has made us, from the greatest consuming
nation of tin-plate in the world, to be among the great-
est of the nations to make tin-plate. I congratulate
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 143
yoTi not only upon tlie prosperous condition of that
branch of our national industries, but upon the better
outlook for all the industries of the United States.
[Applause.] I congratulate you further upon the
patriotism of the people. And I thank you all that
■when the call of the country came you responded so
cheerfully, and furnished more volunteers than the gov-
ernment of the United States could accept from the
State of Indiana. [Applause.] I am glad to see these
little ones about us this morning with these beautiful
flags in their hands. It means that there is patriotism
in their hearts. I congratulate you upon the unifica-
tion of the country. We are stronger and have a more
perfect Union now than we ever had before. And I
wish you all prosperity in your workshops and love and
contentment in your homes. [Great applause.]
LXXXI.
Speech at Noblesville, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
Jir. Gliairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :
This is a most inspiring spectacle. Present here this
morning are all of your civic bodies, the old soldiers
and the new soldiers, and all the people. Such a sight
as this could scarcely be witnessed anywhere else. You
are here because you are interested in your country.
You are here because you love your country. You are
here because you rejoice in the victories of our army
and our navy. And you are here because you rejoice
in the suspension of hostilities, the return of many of
your boys to their homes, and the hope and belief that
14.4: SPEECHES AND ABDEESSES
you will soon have a lasting and triumphant peace,
resting in justice, righteousness, and humanity. [Ap-
plause.] Here none are for a party, but all are for the
State. Here Democrats and Republicans and men of
all parties have assembled to show their appreciation of
the services rendered to the government by the army
and the navy of the United States. [Applause.] And
no nation ever had a more splendid army. Two hun-
dred thousand of the bravest young men, within thirty
days of the call of the President, responded, ready to
march anywhere, at home or abroad, beneath the folds
of the glorious old banner of the free. [Great cheer-
ing.] And did any nation in the world ever have a
better navy ? [Cries of '' No ! "] It was small, but it
was masterful. [Applause.]
My fellow-citizens, rejoicing as we do over the vic-
tories of the war, let us be careful in justice and
right to gather the triumphs of peace. The soldiers
and sailors have done their part. The citizens must now
do theirs. And I pray God that wisdom may be given
all of us to so settle this vexed and vast problem as to
bring honor to our country, justice to humanity, and
general good to all. [Great applause.]
LXXXII.
Speech at Indianapolis, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I thank you for the words of welcome spoken in your
behalf by your distinguished senator [Senator Fair-
banks], I thank you for this cordial and hearty greeting
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 145
at the capital city of your great State. We meet in
no party name. We meet in the name of the country,
of patriotism, and of peace. [Cheers.] It gives me
peculiar pleasure to meet the people of the home resi-
dence of that illustrious statesman, a predecessor in the
Presidential office, Benjamin Harrison. [Cheers.] And
I do not forget in this presence that this was the home
of that other distinguished Indianian, Thomas A. Hen-
dricks. [Cheers.] Both names are remembered by all
of you, and both have been distinguished in the service
of their country.
My fellow-citizens, we are here to-day because we love
the old flag. [Cheers.] It never went down in de-
feat ; it was never raised in dishonor. [Cries of "Never ! "
and cheers.] It means more at this hour than it ever
meant in all our history. It floats to-day where it never
floated before. [Cheers.] Glorious old banner —
The same our grandsires lifted up,
The same our fathers bore.
The war has been successful. It ended in a little
over one hundred days. Matchless victories on land
and sea ! Our army and our navy are entitled to every
honor that a generous nation can bestow. [Cheers.]
Peerless army and navy ! They have done their part ;
the rest remains with us. The war was inaugurated
for humanity ; its settlements must not overlook human-
ity. [Cheers.] It was not commenced in bitterness. It
was not commenced in malice. It was commenced in
a spirit of humanity, of freedom, to stop oppression in a
neighboring island. [Cheers.] We cannot shirk the
obligations of the victory if we would, and we would
not if we could. [Cheers.]
10
146 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
LXXXIII.
Speech at Rushville, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens:
I assure you of my appreciation of this gracious wel-
come on this inclement day. We have very much to be
grateful for as a nation and a people. Providence has
been very kind to us. We have been through a war
which lasted only a little more than one hundred days,
a war happily not on our own, but on distant shores.
And in that short period we sent our boys — and your
contribution was among them— seven thousand miles
by sea. And yet in that short period we have achieved
a victory which will be memorable in history. There
has been nothing like it recorded in military annals.
Now, having triumphed in war, we must be sure that
in the settlements of the war we shall see that justice
and righteousness and humanity shall prevail. [Ap-
plause.] The work is now with you; for j in a govern-
ment like ours the people constitute the power of the
government. It rests and resides with you, and your
will is the command to Congress and to the Executive,
and is at last formed into public law and public policy.
[Applause.]
I am glad to know that my countrymen are thinking
of the serious problems that are before them and before
us, and I pray God we may have the wisdom to settle
them with the same humanity with which our soldiers
fought our great battles. [Cheers.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 147
LXXXIV.
Speech at Connersville, Indiana, October 21, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
The mercifulness of the war through which we have
passed was one of the triumphs of American civiliza-
tion. There was more humanity in it, more humane
treatment of our adversary, than had probably ever
characterized a previous war. For example, we sent
medicines to the sick before we sent our men-of-war;
we sent succor to the suffering before we sent our
squadi'on ; the sweet charity of the American people
preceded the armored cruisers of the country. And
when it was all over, the victorious commanders said to
the defeated adversary, ''Take your side-arms"— not
"your side-arms and go home," but, "Take your side-
arms and we will send you home." [Applause.] So
that, so far as the war is concerned, we not only dis-
played great heroism, but we manifested great human-
ity; and I trust that in the final settlements of that
conflict humanity will triumph, just as it triumphed in
the war. [Great applause.]
148 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
LXXXV.
Remaeks at College Corner, Indiana,
October 21, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
If I had ever been uncertain about the size of Indi-
ana, that uncertainty has been dispelled to-day. I have
been speaking since seven o'clock this morning to vast
audiences at every station from Logansport to your
town. And now the time has come when I must say
fareweU to Indiana and give hail to my native State.
[Great applause.]
LXXXVI.
Speech at Oxford, Ohio, October 21, 1898.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
Old Oxford is the first to give me welcome to my na-
tive State. I am glad to be in this noted college town—
a town that educates not only the young men, but the
young women who are about me to-day. And I recall
that your university has furnished to the public service
some of its most conspicuous men, and others who are
prominent in every walk and profession of life. I am
glad to know that in Ohio, as in all the States where I
have visited, the people feel delighted that the war is
over, and that triumph has been given once more to the
American arms, and are grateful to the army and the
navy for their unprecedented victory. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 149
LXXXVII.
Speech at Hamilton, Ohio, October 21, 1898.
3fi/ Fellow-Citizens:
I recall with the pleasantest memories my former
visits to yoiir city, and whatever political differences
there may have been among us then, you have always
accorded me an attentive hearing and given me a
cordial welcome. I am prepared, therefore, to find to-day
that your hearts are just as warm as in the former days.
The country has had some notable events occurring in
the past five months— events which have added luster
to our history, and given a new and added meaning to
American valor. Your city, Kke all the other cities of
the country, contributed its full share of the army
that made the assaults on San Juan hill and Manila [ap-
plause], and you have heroes in your community whom,
I am sure, you are glad to honor. No nation ever had a
more superb army than mustered in thirty days, under
the flag of the Union, to fight for the honor of the coun-
try and for the oppressed so near our shores. [Ap-
plause.] Our dear old flag, if possible, is still more dear
and sacred to us to-day than it has ever been before. It
represents more than it ever did before. It floats
where it never floated before. [Great applause.] And
I trust, my fellow-countrymen,— for I will not detain
you longer,— I trust that when we come to write the
final conclusions of this struggle into the permanent
form of treaty, they shall be based on justice and right
and humanity. [Prolonged cheering.]
150 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
LXXXVIII.
Rejiarks at Wiljiington, Omo, October 21, 1898.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
I cannot conceal the pleasure which I feel that you
have come out this rainy night to give me welcome. I
remember, with the kindliest recollections, the frequent
visits which I have made to Wilmington and Clinton
County in the years that have gone by. [Cheers.]
There is something very close and tender about the
relationship of citizens of the same State, and I never
shall forget that years ago, and for long years, you
committed to my care great responsibilities, and gave
to me unstinted confidence. [Prolonged applause.]
LXXXIX.
Reiviarks at Washington Court-House, Ohio,
October 21, 1898.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It has been a great while since I addressed the people
of Washington Court-House. I remember many times
in years past to have spoken to your people upon public
questions upon which you were more or less divided. I
am glad to know now that in the contest through which
we have just passed, and in the conclusions which are
to be reached, there is little division of sentiment among
Americans. Men of all parties, men of all sections,
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. ir.l
have shared in the glories of the war, and have contrib-
uted of their bravest and their best to make that war
successful. And now that hostilities have been sus-
pended, it only remains for the people to see to it that
there shall be written in the treaty of peace what was
justly and fairly won by our military and naval
triumphs. [Great applause.]
XC.
Speech at Colibibus, Ohio, October 21, 1898.
Mr. Mayor, my Felloiv-Citkens :
It is not in the unconsidered language of compliment,
but with deep emotion that I undertake to make re-
sponse to the generous welcome extended on behalf of
the city of Columbus by your honored mayor. It seems
to me like coming back home. [Great applause.] The
familiar faces I see about me, the familiar songs I have
heard, all make me feel that I am among my old friends
with whom for four years I Kved. [Applause.] I recall
no four years of public service that gave me more plea-
sure than while serving this State, and not the least of
that pleasure was the kindly social relations I had with
the people of this capital city. [Applause.]
Very much has happened since I last met you in pub-
lic assembly. The nation has been at war, not because
it wanted war, but because it preferred it rather than
to witness at its very door the sufferings of an op-
pressed people. [Cheers.] "We entered upon it for no
other purpose but that of humanity— no desii'e for new
territory, no motive of aggrandizement, but that we
152 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
might stop the oppression of a neighboring people whose
cry we could almost hear. Happily for us, with our
splendid army and our no less splendid navy, the war was
concluded in a little more than one hundred days.
Nothing like it in the military annals of the world !
We sent our troops seven thousand miles by sea in the
east. We sent them to the south. We had our squadron
in Manila and our fleet in Santiago, which destroyed both
Spanish fleets. [Cheers.] AU honor to the army and the
navy of the United States ! [Cheering.] All honor to the
regulars and the volunteers [cheering], and to the marines
[cheers], black and white, of every nationality [cheers],
who marched under the glorious banner of the free to a
victory for God and civilization. [Enthusiastic cheering.]
All honor to our sailors and seamen ! [Cheers.] We had
altogether too few ships, but they had a mighty arma-
ment, and behind them were men. [Tremendous cheer-
ing.] They have done their work. They have wrought
well. It remains for us now to finish the task and write
in public treaty the agreements of peace. [Applause.]
Short as was the war, many of our brave boys went
down in battle, never to rise again. They fell under the
Stars and Stripes, fighting for humanity. Whether in
camp or in field, on the battle-line, in the trenches, or on
the battle-ship, they gave up their lives for their coun-
try's cause. Nor do I forget, standing in this presence,
that that rugged old soldier. Colonel Poland [applause],
and that other rugged soldier. Colonel Haskell [ap-
plause], brave commanders of the gallant Seventeenth
Infantry [applause], have passed from human sight.
They gave all they had, the best that any man has,—
his own life,— on the altar of their country. The
brave boys fell at Santiago, making the charge of San
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 153
Juan hill ; at El Caney, at Guantanamo, and at Manila
and Porto Rico
They fell devoted but undying ;
The very gale their names seem'd sighing;
The waters murmur'd of their name ;
The woods were peopled with their fame ;
The silent pillar, lone and gi'ey,
Claim'd kindred with their sacred clay ;
Their spirits vsTapt the dusky mountain ;
Their memory sparkled o'er the fountain ;
The meanest rill, the mightiest river,
EoU'd mingling with their fame forever.
Nor do I forget the promptness with which the brave
boys of Ohio responded to the call of the President.
[Applause.] Within forty-eight hours Ohio's quota was
full. [Applause.] You will be glad to know that the
Fourth Ohio [applause], made up of your sons, taken
from your own homes and your own firesides, blood of
your blood, did gallant service in Porto Rico, and in the
very near future will be brought back to reunited homes.
My countrymen, the past is secure. We know the
extent of our country now. Some additions have been
made since I left you. [Laughter and applause.] Our
flag floats triumphantly over Porto Rico. [Applause.]
Our troops are in unquestioned possession of that isl-
and. The same flag floats over Hawaii. [Applause.]
We know what our country is now in its territory, but
we do not know what it may be in the near future.
[Applause.] But whatever it is, whatever obligation
shall justly come from this strife for humanity, we must
take up and perform, and as free, strong, brave people,
accept the trust which civilization puts upon us. [En-
thusiastic cheers and applause.]
154 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
XCI.
Reiharks at Newark, Ohio, October 21, 1898.
Fellow-Citizens :
I am very glad to meet you all, I used to come liere
often in the years gone by, and I remember with the
greatest pleasure and satisfaction the warm welcome
you always extended to me. [Applause.] It is a great
compliment, at this hour of the night, and in this in-
clement weather, for you to give me this manifestation
of your good will. I wish for all of you the greatest
prosperity and happiness. [Great applause.]
XCIL
Reiharks at the Union League Banquet,
Philadelphia, October 26, 1898.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen :
I can make no response to the toast just offered by
your chairman so grateful to my own heart as to ask
you all to join with me in toasting the army and navy
of the United States [applause], and the government
officers assembled about this table, who very well typify
the valor and sacrifices of the soldiers and sailors of the
republic. They bore these old flags in triumphant vic-
tory, and they brought them back to us with added
glory ; and without their service and sacrifice we could
not celebrate the brilliant victories of the war. So I
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 155
ask you to join with me in toasting the magnificent
army and navy of the United States. [Great applause.]
XCIII.
Speech at the Banquet of the Clover Club,
Phd^adelphl^; October 27, 1898.
ft.- -
Mr. President and Gentlemen :
I cannot forego making acknowledgment to this far-
famed club for the permission it has granted me to
meet with you here to-night.
It has been most gratifying to me to participate with
the people of the city of Philadelphia in this great pa-
triotic celebration, a pageant the like of which I do not
believe has been seen since the close of the great Civil
War, when the armies of Grant and Sherman and Sheri-
dan, and the navy of Dupont and Dahlgren and Porter
gave the great review in the capital city of the nation.
I know of no more fitting place to have a patriotic cele-
bration than in this city, which witnessed the earliest
consecration of liberty to the republic.
And as T stood on the reviewing stand, witnessing
the soldiers and sailors passing by, my heart was filled
only with gratitude— gratitude to the God of battles,
who has so favored us, and gratitude to the brave
soldiers and sailors who have won such signal victories
on land and sea, and who have given a new meaning to
American valor.
It has been especially gratifying to me to participate,
not only with the people of Philadelphia, but with the
people of the great West, where I have recently visited,
156 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
in doing honor to the American army and the American
navJ^ No nobler soldiers or sailors ever assembled
under a flag. [Great applause.]
You had with you to-day the heroes of Santiago and
Porto Rico and Guantanamo. We, unfortunately, had
none of the heroes of Manila with us, and I am sure our
hearts go out to them to-night— to brave Dewey [great
applause], and to Merritt and Otis [great applause], and
all the other gallant men who are now sustaining the
flag in that distant harbor and city. [Great applause.]
Gentlemen, the American people are always ready for
any emergency, and if a Merrimac is to be sunk there is
always some one found to do it, and the young lieu-
tenant succeeded in doing what our foe has never been
able to do— sink an American ship. [Great applause.]
So I ask you, gentlemen of the Clover Club, to unite
with me in toasting the army and the navy of the
United States, without whose valor and sacrifice we
could not celebrate the victory we have been celebrat-
ing to-day— not only the men at the front, not only the
men who are on the battle-ship and the battle-line, but
the men at home praying to go to fight the battles for
humanity and civilization. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 157
XCIY.
Reiviarks to First District of Coltoibia Regdient,
U. S. Volunteers, at Convention Hall, Washing-
ton, D. C, November 17, 1898.
Mr. Commissioner and Soldiers of the First Regiment,
District of Columbia :
It has given me very great pleasure to join with your
fellow-citizens in participating in the exercises which
give honor to this regiment. It was my good fortune
to look into your faces before you started for the front ;
it was my good fortune to look into your faces upon
your return. When you started I was iilled with hope ;
when you returned I had a feeling of full realization
that you had quite performed the high expectations I
had for you. All mankind admires valor. This regi-
ment did its whole duty, and that is all you can say of
any soldier. You went where you were ordered — loy-
ally, unmurmuringly. You did every duty that was
assigned you, and you came back from the field and ex-
posure with new honors added to the flag you carried
from the city of Washington. I am glad it is j)ossible
to muster you out of the service, and yet I regret very
much to see this splendid body of men leave the service
of the United States. But I fully console myself, in
standing here at the very threshold of your muster out,
with the feeling that, if your country needed you to-
morrow, every man would be ready to respond. [Great
applause.]
158 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
xcv.
Speech before the Legislature in Joint Assembly
AT the State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia, Decem-
ber 14, 1898.
3Ir. President and Gentlemen :
It is with more than common pleasure that I meet
these representatives of this great State. I am more
than glad to be with you here at this time and share
with you in the general rejoicing over the signing of the
treaty of peace between the United States and Spain.
Sectional lines no longer mar the map of the United
States. [Great applause.] Sectional feeling no longer
holds back the love we bear each other. [Applause.]
Fraternity is the national anthem, sung by a chorus of
forty-five States and our Territories at home and beyond
the seas. [Applause.] The Union is once more the
common altar of our love and loyalty, our devotion and
sacrifice. The old flag again waves over us in peace,
with new glories which your sons and ours have this
year added to its sacred folds. Wliat cause we have
for rejoicing, saddened only by the fact that so many of
our brave men fell on the field or sickened and died from
hardship and exposure, and others returning bring
wounds and disease from which they will long suffer.
The memory of the dead will be a precious legacy, and
the disabled will be the nation's care. [Applause.]
A nation which cares for its disabled soldiers as we
have always done will never lack defenders. The na-
tional cemeteries for those who fell in battle are proof
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 159
that the dead as well as the living have our love. What
an army of silent sentinels we have, and with what
loving care their graves are kept ! Every soldier's
grave made during our unfortunate Civil "War is a trib-
ute to American valor. [Applause.] And while, when
those graves were made, we differed widely about the
future of this government, those differences were long
ago settled by the arbitrament of arms; and the time
has now come, in the evolution of sentiment and feeling
under the providence of God, when in the spirit of fra-
ternity we should share with you in the care of the
graves of the Confederate soldiers. [Tremendous ap-
plause and long-continued cheering.]
The cordial feeling now happily existing between the
North and South prompts this gracious act, and if it
needed further justification, it is found in the gallant
loyalty to the Union and the flag so conspicuously
shown in the year just past by the sons and grand-
sons of these heroic dead. [Tremendous applause.]
What a glorious future awaits us if unitedly, wisely,
and bravely we face the new problems now pressing
upon us, determined to solve them for right and hu-
manity ! [Prolonged applause and repeated cheers.]
XCVI.
Speech at the Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia,
December 15, 1898.
Governor Candler, President Hemphill, Ladies and Gentle-
men :
I cannot withhold from this people my profound
thanks for their hearty reception and the good will
160 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
which they have shown me everywhere and in every
way since I have been their guest. I thank them for
the opportunity which this occasion gives me of meeting
them, and for the pleasure it affords me to participate
with them in honoring the army and the navy, to whose
achievements we are indebted for one of the most bril-
liant chapters of American history.
Other parts of the country have had their public
thanksgivings and jubilees in honor of the historic
events of the past year, but nowhere has there been
greater rejoicing than among the people here, the gath-
ered representatives of the South. I congratulate them
upon their accurate observation of events, which en-
abled them to fix a date which insured them the privi-
lege of being the first to celebrate the signing of the
treaty of peace by the American and Spanish commis-
sioners. Under hostile fire on a foreign soil, fighting
in a common cause, the memory of old disagreements
has faded into history. From camp and campaign
there comes the magic healing which has closed ancient
wounds and effaced their scars. For this result every
American patriot will forever rejoice. It is no small
indemnity for the cost of the war.
This government has proved itself invincible in the
recent war, and out of it has come a nation which will
remain indivisible forevermore. [Applause.] No worthier
contributions have been made in patriotism and in men
than by the people of these Southern States. When at
last the opportunity came they were eager to meet it, and
with promptness responded to the call of country. In-
trusted with the able leadership of men dear to them, who
had marched with their fathers under another flag, now
fighting under the old flag again, they have gloriously
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. lei
helped to defend its spotless folds, and added new luster
to its shining stars. That flag has been planted in two
hemispheres, and there it remains the symbol of liberty
and law, of peace and progress. [Great applause.] Who
will withdraw from the people over whom it floats its
protecting folds 1 Wlio will haul it down "? Answer me,
ye men of the South, who is there in Dixie who will
haul it down! [Tremendous applause.]
The victory we celebrate is not that of a ruler, a
President, or a Congress, but of the people. [Applause.]
The army whose valor we admire, and the navy whose
achievements we api3laud, were not assembled by draft
or conscription, but from voluntary enlistment. The
heroes came from civil as well as military life. Trained
and untrained soldiers wrought our triumphs.
The peace we have won is not a selfish truce of arms,
but one whose conditions presage good to humanity.
The domains secured under the treaty yet to be acted
upon by the Senate came to us not as the result of a
crusade or conquest, but as the reward of temperate,
faithful, and fearless response to the call of conscience,
which could not be disregarded by a liberty-loving and
Christian people.
We have so borne ourselves in the conflict and in our
intercourse with the powers of the world as to escape
complaint or complication, and give universal confidence
in our high purpose and unselfish sacrifices for strug-
gling peoples. The task is not fulfilled. Indeed, it is
only just begun. The most serious work is stiU before
us, and every energy of heart and mind must be bent,
and the impulses of partizanship subordinated, to its
faithful execution. This is the time for earnest, not
faint, hearts.
11
w^
162 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
'' New occasions teach new duties." To this nation
and to every nation there come formative periods in its
life and history. New conditions can be met only by
new methods. Meeting these conditions hopefully, and
facing them bravely and wisely, is to be the mightiest
test of American virtue and capacity. Without aban-
doning past limitations, traditions, and principles, by
meeting present opj^ortunities and obligations, we
shall show ourselves worthy of the great trusts which
civilization has imposed upon us. [Great applause.]
At Bunker Hill liberty was at stake ; at Gettysburg
the Union was the issue ; before Manila and Santiago
our armies fought, not for gain or revenge, but for hu-
man rights. They contended for the freedom of the
oppressed, for whose welfare the United States has
never failed to lend a helping hand to estabhsh and up-
hold, and, I believe, never will. The glories of the war
cannot be dimmed, but the result will be incomplete
and unworthy of us unless supplemented by civil vic-
tories, harder possibly to win, but in their way no less
indispensable. [Great applause.]
We will have our difficulties and our embarrassments.
They follow all victories and accompany all great re-
sponsibilities. They are inseparable from every great
movement or reform. But American capacity has tri-
umphed over all in the past. [Applause.] Doubts have
in the end vanished. Apparent dangers have been
averted or avoided, and our own history shows that
progress has come so naturally and steadily on the heels
of new and grave responsibilities that, as we look back
upon the acquisitions of territory by our fathers, we
are filled with wonder that any doubt could have ex-
isted or any apprehension could have been felt of the
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. les
wisdom of their action or their capacity to grapple with
the then untried and mighty problems. [Great a]3-
plause.]
The republic is to-day larger, stronger, and better
prepared than ever before for wise and profitable devel-
opment in new directions and along new lines. Even
if the minds of some of our own people are still dis-
turbed by perplexing and anxious doubts, in which all
of us have shared and still share, the genius of Ameri-
can civiHzation will, I believe, be found both original
and creative, and capable of subserving all the great in-
terests which shall be confided to our keeping. [Ap-
plause.]
Forever in the right, following the best impulses and
cHnging to high purposes, using proj^erly and within
right limits our power and opportunities, honorable re-
ward must inevitably follow. The outcome cannot be
in doubt. We could have avoided all the difficulties
that lie across the pathway of the nation if a few months
ago we had coldly ignored the piteous appeals of the
starving and oppressed inhabitants of Cuba. If we
had blinded ourselves to the conditions so near our
shores, and turned a deaf ear to our suffering neighbors,
the issue of territorial expansion in the Antilles and the
East Indies would not have been raised.
But could we have justified such a course? [Gen-
eral cry of " No ! "] Is there any one who would now
declare another to have been the better course ? [Cries
of "No !"] With less humanity and less courage on our
part, the Spanish flag, instead of the Stars and Stripes,
would stiU be floating at Cavite, at Ponce, and at San-
tiago, and a " chance in the race of life " would be
wanting to millions of human beings who to-day call
164 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
this nation noble, and who, I trust, will live to call it
blessed.
Thus far we have done our supreme duty. Shall we
now, when the victory won in war is written in the
treaty of peace, and the civilized world applauds and
waits in expectation, turn timidly away from the duties
imposed upon the country by its own great deeds ? And
when the mists fade away and we see with clear vision,
may we not go forth rejoicing in a strength which has
been employed solely for humanity and always tem-
pered with justice and mercy, confident of our ability to
meet the exigencies which await us, because confident
that our course is one of duty and our cause that of
right? [Prolonged applause.]
XCVII.
Speech at the Banquet at Atlanta, Georgia,
December 15, 1898.
Mr. Toastmaster, Gentlemen :
I am not a stranger to your hospitality. You have
always given me a courteous and cordial reception. My
first visit was under the auspices of your fellow-citizen,
Captain Howell, and another distinguished Georgian,
the brilliant Grady, since called from the field of activ-
ity where he was at the height of his usefulness, and
where the whole nation could illy spare him, and sor-
rowed at his xintimely death. Then we were engaged
in an economic discussion, in which honest difi'erences of
opinion prevailed and heated discussion ruled the hour.
I do not forget that then, although advocating the
theory of taxation seemingly opposed to the majority
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. i65
sentiment of your State and city, you accorded me an
impartial hearing. Stranger that I was to all of you,
you made me feel at home, and from that hour Atlanta
won my heart. [Applause.] My subsequent visits have
only served to increase my admiration for your enter-
prising city.
Four years have gone since I last met the people of
Georgia in pubhc assembly. Much has happened in the
intervening time. The nation has been at war, not within
its own shores, but with a foreign power— a war waged,
not for revenge or aggrandizement, but for our op-
pressed neiglibors, for their freedom and amelioration.
[Applause.]
It was short but decisive. It recorded a succession
of significant victories on land and sea. It gave new
honors to American arms. It has brought new prob-
lems to the republic, whose solution will tax the genius
of our people. United we will meet and solve them
with honor to ourselves and to the lasting benefit of all
concerned. [Great applause.] The war brought us to-
gether ; its settlement will keep us together. [Continued
applause.]
Reunited! Glorious realization! It expresses the
thought of my mind and the long-deferred consumma-
tion of my heart's desire as I stand in this presence. It
interprets the hearty demonstration here witnessed, and
is the patriotic refrain of all sections and of aU lovers
of the republic. [Applause.]
Reunited— one country again and one country for-
ever ! Proclaim it from the press and pulpit ; teach it
in the schools ; write it across the skies ! The world
sees and feels it ; it cheers every heart North and South,
and brightens the life of every American home. Let
166 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
nothing- ever strain it again ! At peace with all the
world and with one another, what can stand in the path-
way of our progress and prosperity ? [Long-continued
applause.]
XCVIII.
Speech at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Insti-
tute, TusKEGEE, Alabama, December 16, 1898.
Teachers and Pupils of Tushegee :
To meet you under such pleasant auspices and have
the opportunity of a personal observation of your work
is indeed most gratifying. The Tuskegee Normal and
Industrial Institute is ideal in conception, and has al-
ready a large and growing reputation in the country,
and is not unknown abroad. I congratulate all who are
associated in this undertaking for the good work which
it is doing in the education of its students to lead lives
of honor and usefulness, thus exalting the race for
which it was established.
Nowhere, I think, could a more delightful location
have been chosen for this unique educational experi-
ment, which has attracted the attention and won' the
support even of conservative philanthropists in all sec-
tions of the country.
To speak of Tuskegee without paying special tribute
to Booker T. Washington's genius and perseverance
would be impossible. The inception of this noble enter-
prise was his, and he deserves high credit for it. His
was the enthusiasm and enterprise which made its
steady progress possible, and established in the institu-
tion its present high standard of accomplishment. He
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. i67
has won a worthy reputation as one of the great
leaders of his race, widely known and much respected
at home and abroad as an accomplished educator, a
great orator, and a true philanthropist.
What steady and gratifying advances have been made
here during the past fifteen years, a personal inspection
of the material equipment strikingly proves. The pat-
ronage and resources have been largely increased, until
even the legislative department of the State of Alabama,
and finally the Congress of the United States, recognized
the worth of the work and the great opportunities
here afforded. From one small frame house the Insti-
tute has grown until it includes the fine group of dormi-
tories, recitation-rooms, lecture-halls, and workshops
which have so surj)rised and delighted us to-day. A
thousand students, I am told, are here cared for by
nearly a hundred teachers, all together forming, with
the preparatory department, a symmetrical scholastic
community which has been well called a model for the
industrial colored schools of the South. Certain it is
that a pupil bent on fitting himself or herself for me-
chanical work can here have the widest choice of useful
and domestic occupations.
One thing I like about this institution is that its policy
has been generous and progressive; it is not so self-
centered or interested in its own pursuits and ambitions
as to ignore what is going on in the rest of the country,
or make it difficult for outsiders to share the local ad-
vantages. I allude especially to the spirit in which the
annual conferences have been here held by leading col-
ored citizens and educators, with the intention of im-
proving the condition of their less fortunate brothers
and sisters. Here, we can see, is an immense field, and
168 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
one which cannot too soon or too carefully be utilized.
The conferences have grown in popularity, and are well
calculated not only to encourage colored men and col-
ored women in their individual efforts, but to cultivate
and promote an amicable relationship between the two
races — a problem whose solution was never more needed
than at the present time. Patience, moderation, self-
control, knowledge, character will surely win you vic-
tories and realize the best aspirations of your people.
An evidence of the soundness of the purposes of this
institution is that those in charge of its management
evidently do not believe in attempting the unattainable,
and their instruction in self-reliance and practical in-
dustry is most valuable.
In common with the Hampton Institute in Virginia,
the Tuskegee Institute has been, and is to-day, of in-
estimable value in sowing the seeds of good citizenship.
Institutions of their standing and worthy patronage
form a steadier and more powerful agency for the good
of all concerned than any other yet proposed or sug-
gested. The practical is here associated with the aca-
demic, encouraging both learning and industry. Here
you learn to master yourselves, find the best adaptation
of your faculties, with advantages for advanced learning
to meet the high duties of life.
No country, epoch, or race has a monopoly upon
knowledge. Some have easier, but not necessarily bet-
ter, opportunities for self-development. What a few
can obtain free, most have to pay for, perhaps by hard
physical labor, mental struggle, and self-denial. But in
this great country all can have the opportunity for bet-
tering themselves, provided they exercise intelligence
and perseverance, and their motives and conduct are
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 169
worthy. Nowhere are such faciKties for universal edu-
cation found as in the United States. They are accessi-
ble to every boy and girl, white or black.
Integrity and industry are the best possessions which
any man can have, and every man can have them. No-
body can give them to him or take them from him. He
cannot acquire them by inheritance ; he cannot buy
them or beg them or borrow them. They belong to the
individual and are his unquestioned property. He
alone can part with them. They are a good thing to
have and keep. They make happy homes ; they achieve
success in every walk of life ; they have won the greatest
triumphs for mankind. No man who has them ever
gets into the police court or before the grand jury or in
the workhouse or the chain-gang. They give one moral
and material power. They will bring you a comfortable
living, make 5'-ou respect yourself, and command the re-
spect of your fellows. They are indispensable to suc-
cess. They are invincible. The merchant requires the
clerk whom he employs to have them. The railroad
corporation inquires whether the man seeking employ-
ment possesses them. Every avenue of human endea-
vor welcomes them. They are the only keys to open
with certainty the door of opportunity to struggling
manhood. Employment waits on them ; capital re-
quires them ; citizenship is not good without them. If
you do not already have them, get them.
To the pupils here assembled I extend my especial
congratulations that the facilities for advancement
afforded to them are so numerous and so inviting.
Those who are here for the time being have the reputa-
tion of the institution in charge, and should therefore
be all the more careful to guard it worthily. Others
170 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
who have gone before you have made great sacrij&ces to
reach the present results. What you do will affect not
only those who come after you here, but many men and
women whom you may never meet. The results of your
training and work here will eventually be felt, either di-
rectly or indirectly, in nearly every part of the country.
Most of you are young, and youth is the time best
fitted for development both of the body and of the
mind. Whatever you do, do with all your might, with
will and purpose, not of the selfish kind, but looking to
benefit j-our race and your country. In comparing the
past with the present, you should be especially grateful
that it has been your good fortune to come within the
influences of such an institution as that of Tuskegee,
and that you are under the guidance of such a strong
leader. I thank him most cordially for the pleasure of
visiting this institution, and I bring to all here associ-
ated my good will and the best wishes of your country-
men, wishing you the realization of success in whatever
undertakings may hereafter engage you.
XCIX.
Speech to the General Assembly and Citizens in
THE State Capitol, Montgojmery, Alaba]\l\, De-
cember IG, 1898.
Mr. President^ Gentlemen of the General Assemhhj, Fellow-
Citizens :
The warm heart- welcome which has been given to me
by the citizens of Alabama has deeply touched me, and
I cannot find language to express my gratitude and ap-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 171
preciation. To be welcomed here in the city of Mont-
gomery, the first capital of the Confederate States,
warmly and enthusiastically welcomed as the President
of a common country, has filled and thrilled me with
emotion. Once the capital of the Confederacy, now the
capital of a great State, one of the indestructible States
of an indestructible Union !
The governor says he has nothing to take back. We
have nothing to take back for having kept you in the
Union. We are glad you did not go out, and you are
glad you stayed in. [Tremendous applause.]
Alabama, like all the States of the Union, North and
South, has been loyal to the flag and steadfastly devoted
to the American name and to American honor. There
never has been in the history of the United States such
a demonstration of patriotism, from one end of this
country to the other, as in the year just passing ; and
never has American valor been more brilliantly illus-
trated in the battle-line on shore and on the battle-ship
at sea than by the soldiers and sailors of the United
States. Everybody is talking of Hobson, and justly so ;
but I want to thank Mother Hobson in this presence.
Everybody is talking about General Wheeler, one of the
bravest of the brave ; but I want to speak of that sweet
little daughter who followed him to Santiago [great ap-
plause], and ministered to the sick soldiers at Montauk.
[Cheers.] I have spoken at many places and at many
times of the heroism of the American army and the
American navy, but in our recent conflict the whole
people were patriots. Two hundred thousand men were
called for and a million rushed to get a place in the
ranks. [Great applause.] And millions more stood
ready if need be. [Prolonged applause.]
172 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
I like the feeling of the American people tliat we
ought not to have a large standing army; but it has
been demonstrated in the last few months that we need
the standing army large enough to do all the work re-
quired while we are at peace, and can rely upon the
great body of the people in an emergency to help us
fight our battles. [Applause.]
We love peace ; we are not a military nation : but
whenever the time of peril comes, the bulwark of this
people is the patriotism of its citizens ; and this nation
will be safe for all time because seventy-five millions of
people love it and will give up their lives to sustain
and uphold it. [Great applause.]
I thank you, my fellow-citizens, for this generous
welcome which you have given me to-day, and I shall
go back to my duties at our capital feeling that we have
a united country that acknowledges allegiance to but
one authority, and will march forever unitedly under
one flag, the Stars and Stripes. [Tremendous cheer-
ing and applause.]
C.
Speech at Banquet of Board of Trade and Asso-
ciated Citizens, Savannah, Georgia, December
17, 1898.
Mr. President, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen :
Words are poor indeed to respond fittingly to the
earnest and heartfelt welcome which has been extended
to me and those who accompany me since we have
been in your historic city— a city whose life began be-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 173
fore that of the government, and which has ever since
kept pace with the progress and the glory of the govern-
ment. I feel here to-night that once more the North
and the South are together, and are now contending in
generous rivalry to express their devotion to the institu-
tions which they have established and the land which
we all love. [Applause.]
There is cause for congratulation that with the grave
problems before us, growing out of the war with Spain,
we are free from any divisions at home.
Our financial and revenue policies cannot be changed
for at least four years ; and whatever legislation may be
had affecting them during that period will be to improve
and strengthen, not destroy them. [Applause.]
The public mind can, therefore, repose in reasonable
security, while business will proceed without apprehen-
sion of serious and sudden changes, so disturbing to the
commercial world and so distracting to the business
man. All of which is fortunate for the country, for
every interest and every section of the country. Even
those who desire other and different policies prefer per-
manence to constant change, or, what is almost as hurt-
ful, the fear of change. There are happily now no
domestic differences to check the progress and prosper-
ity of the country, which our peaceful relations with the
whole world will encourage and strengthen.
This is fortunate, too, in another sense. It leaves the
country free to consider and discuss new questions
which are immediately before us, unbiased by party or
past political alliances. These new questions are to be
thought out and wrought out, not in a spirit of par-
tizanship, but in a spirit of patriotism ; not for the tem-
porary advantage of one party or the other, but for the
174 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
lasting advantage of the country. [Applause.] Neither
prejudice nor passion nor previous condition can em-
barrass the free action and calm judgment of the citizen.
We have entered upon new paths. We are treading in
an unexplored field which will test our wisdom and
statesmanship. The chief consideration is one of duty ;
our action must be controlled by it. No settlement is
admissible which will not preserve our honor and pro-
mote the best interests of all concerned. With a united
country and the gathered wisdom of all the people, seek-
ing only the right, inspired only by high purposes,
moved only by duty and humanit}^, we cannot err. We
may be baffled or deterred and often discouraged ; but
final success in a cause which is altogether unselfish and
humanitarian can only be deferred, not prevented. [Ap-
plause.]
If, following the clear precepts of duty, territory falls
to us, and the welfare of an alien people requires our
guidance and protection, who will shrink from the re-
sponsibility, grave though it may be ? [Applause.] Can
we leave these people, who, by the fortunes of war and
our own acts, are helpless and without government, to
chaos and anarchy, after we have destroyed the only
government they have had ? [Applause.] Having de-
stroyed their government, it is the duty of the American
people to provide for them a better one. [Applause.]
Shall we distrust ourselves, shall we proclaim to the
world our inability to give kindly government to op-
pressed peoples whose future by the victories of war
is confided to us? We may wish it were otherwise,
but who will question our duty now ? It is not a question
of keeping the islands of the East, but of leaving them.
[Applause.] Dewey and Merritt took them [great
OP WILLIAM McKINLEY. 175
applause], and the country instantly and universally ap-
plauded. Could we have brought Dewey away without
universal condemnation at any time from the 1st of May,
the day of his brilliant victory which thrilled the world
with its boldness and heroism ? [Great applause.] Was
it right to order Dewey to go to Manila and capture or
destroy the Spanish fleet, and despatch Merritt and his
army to reinforce him ? [Cries of '' Yes ! " Great ap-
plause.] If it was duty to send them there, and duty
required them to remain there, it was then* clear duty to
annihilate the fleet, take the city of Manila, and destroy
the Spanish sovereignty in the archipelago. [Continued
applause.] Having done all that in the line of duty,
is there any less duty to remain there and give to the
inhabitants protection and also our guidance to a better
government, which will secure to them peace and order
and security in their life and property and in the pur-
suit of happiness? [Applause.] Are we unable to do
this? [General cry of '* No !"] Are we to sit down in
our isolation and recognize no obligation to a struggling
people whose present conditions we have contributed to
make ? I would rather have the confidence of the poet
Bryant, when he exclaims :
Thou, my coimtry, thou shalt never fall—
Seas and stormy air
Are the wide barrier of thy borders, where
Among thy gallant sons that guard thee well
Thou laugh'st at enemies. Who shall then declare
The date of thy deep-founded strength, or tell
How happy, in thy lap, the sons of men shall dwell?
My fellow-citizens, whatever covenants dutj^ has made
for us in the year 1898 we must keep. [Enthusiastic
and prolonged applause.]
176 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CI.
Speech at Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Savannah, December 18, 1898.
Fellow-Citizens :
This scene has profoundly impressed me, and I
have been deeply moved by the eloquent words and
the exalted sentiments which have been uttered by the
two gentlemen whom you delegated to speak in your
behalf. It gives me peculiar pleasure to meet you, and
to meet you in this institution of learning, presided over
by one whom I have known for more than twenty years,
and whom I have come to admire and respect as one of
the leaders of your race. I congratulate him and all
associated with him in the good work done here for the
exaltation of your people. I congratulate all of you upon
the advance made by you in the last third of a century.
You are entitled to all the praise and high commenda-
tion which, I am sure, you receive from your white
fellow-citizens in this and every part of the country.
I congratulate you upon your acquirement of prop-
erty. Many of your race have large properties on the
tax lists in the several States, and in that way contribute
proportionately to the support of the government.
I congratulate you on what you have done in learning
and the acquirement of useful knowledge ; and on the fact
that in the United States there is not a foot of ground
beneath the flag where every boy and every girl, white
or black, cannot have an education to fit them for the
battle of life.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 177
Keep on, is the word I would leave with you to-day.
Keep on in the efforts upward, but remember that in
acquiring knowledge there is one thing equally impor-
tant, and that is character. Nothing in the whole wide
world is worth so much, will last so long, and serve its
possessor so well as good character. It is something
that no one can take from you, that no one can give to
you. You must acquire it for yourself.
There is another thing. Do not forget the home.
The home is the foundation of good individual life and
of good government. Cultivate good homes, make them
pure and sweet, elevate them, and other good things
will follow. I congratulate you that this institution is
not only looking after the head, but after the hand. I
congratulate you that it is making not only good orators,
but good mechanics. It is better to be a skilled me-
chanic than a poor orator or an indifferent preacher.
[Great applause.] In a word, each of you must want to
be best in whatever you undertake. Nothing in the
world commands more respect than skill and industry.
Every avenue is open to them.
I congratulate you upon the valor of your race. My
friend, the president of your coUege, has made an allu-
sion in his speech to what, many years ago, I said in
a public address. I told of a white colonel who had
delivered the flag of our country to his black color-
sergeant, and said to him :
" Sergeant, I place in your hand this sacred flag.
Fight for it, yes, die for it, but never surrender it to
the hands of the enemy."
That black soldier, with love of country and pride in
his heart, answered: '^I wiU bring the flag back in
honor, colonel, or report to God the reason why."
12
178 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
In one battle, in carrying that flag of freedom, lie was
stricken down. He fell with the folds of the flag
wrapped about him, bathed in his blood. He did not
bring it back, but God knew the reason why. He did
all he could, all any man could. He gave his heart's
blood for the flag.
At San Juan hill and at El Caney— but General
Wheeler is here [great applause] ; I know he can tell you
better than I can of the heroism of the black regiments
which fought side by side with the white troops on
those historic fields.
Mr. Lincoln was right when, speaking of the black
men, he said that the time might come when they would
help to preserve and extend freedom. And in a third
of a century you have been among those who have given
liberty in Cuba to an oppressed people.
I leave with you this one word : Keep on. You will
solve your own problem. Be patient, be progressive,
be determined, be honest, be God-fearing, and you will
win, for no effort fails that has a stout, honest, earnest
heart behind it. [Great applause.]
CII.
Speech at Macon Georgia, December 19, 1898.
Felloiv- Citizens :
It gives me very great pleasure to visit the city of
Macon, with many of whose citizens I have been as-
sociated in public life. It has given me pleasure to
witness the review of the soldiers of the United
States. How much, indeed, has this nation to be thank-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 179
f ul for at this hour ! With what reverent gratitude we
should express our thankfulness to a divine Providence
that has so tenderly cared for the American people ! We
have been at war with a foreign power. That war ended
after one hundred and thirteen days of conflict— a con-
flict on two oceans, a conflict in the West and East
Indies, twelve thousand miles apart ; with fifty thousand
of our own soldiers on distant shores, and twenty thou-
sand sailors and marines afloat ; with a loss in army and
navy of less than two thousand, and without the loss of
ship or sailor or soldier or flag by capture. [Applause.]
Never was there a more magnificent army mustered, and
never was there an army mustered for a holier cause, or
under a more glorious flag than the Stars and Stripes.
[Cheers and great applause.]
On the twenty -fourth day of this month, the day before
Christmas, our peace commissioners will deliver to the
President of the United States a treaty of peace— peace
with honor, peace with the blessings of liberty to
struggling peoples. East and West. [Applause.]
I congratulate my country upon another fact. We
have not only triumphed over our enemy, but we have
triumphed over our own prejudices and are now a united
country. [Prolonged applause and cheers.]
It has done my heart good to witness the demonstra-
tions of patriotism from one end of this country to the
other. Six weeks ago I went to the extreme West. I
met the wave of patriotism there. I come to the South
and I witness the same spirit of loyalty and devotion to
a common country, with a common faith, under a com-
mon flag. [Applause.]
I know this great audience wants to see the heroes of
the war. [Applause.] They are here with you— Shafter
180 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
and Wheeler and Lawton and Wilson and Bates and
others who were conspicuous in the recent conflict.
[Cheers.] And I give way that you may have the pleasure
of meeting them and other distinguished gentlemen who
are in my company as I journey through the South.
[Great applause.]
cm.
Remarks at Milledgeville, Georgia, December 19,
1898.
My Fellow- Citizens :
It is to me a very great pleasure to meet the citi-
zens of Milledgeville, the old capital of the State of
Georgia. In my trip through your State I have been
received with a real warmth of welcome, and I as-
sure you that it is appreciated from the depths of my
heart.
I am glad to know that once more this country, North
and South, aU the people of all the sections, are animated
by one purpose, one aim, one hope for a common des-
tiny under the dear old banner of the free. [Great
applause and cheers.] And nothing gives me more sat-
isfaction than to feel that as the President, called by the
suffrages of the people, I am permitted to preside over a
nation, rich with glorious memories of glorious deeds,
now united in an unbroken and never-to-be-broken
Union. [Enthusiastic applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. isi
CIV.
Speech at Augusta, Georgia, December 19, 1898.
Mr. Chairman, my Fellow-Citizens :
I have been received by many people in many places,
East and West, North and South, but nowhere have I
had welcome that has given me greater pleasure than
the one you extend to me here to-day. I wish it were in
my power to make suitable response to the gracious and
eloquent words of him whom you have chosen to speak
in j^our behalf —my old friend, whom I met for the iirst
time in the Congress of the United States.
It is indeed an honor to me, and one that shall never
be forgotten, to stand in the place associated with the
names of Washington and Lafayette and Clay and Web-
ster. It is also a pleasure to me to be in the city where
that gallant cavalry officer, General Joe Wheeler, was
born. [Applause.] It is a pleasure for me to meet in
this welcome these veterans of the gray, these ex-Con-
federate soldiers [applause], and to feel that in common
with all their fellow-citizens their hearts are in touch with
the aims and purposes of this great republic. [Applause.]
What a wonderful country we have ! With what
pride its contemplation fills us all ! When Washington
was here we had a little over three millions of people.
We have seventy-five millions to-day. We have added
vastly to our territory. We are to-day the largest manu-
facturing and the largest agricultural nation of the
world. [Applause.] Our commerce floats on every sea ;
and only day before yesterday I saw that a thousand
182 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
tons of American ship's plates had been landed at Glas-
gow, Scotland, and, what is even more significant, it was
carried on a ship bearing the American flag. [Ap-
plause.]
I congratulate you upon the prosperity of the country.
I congratulate you upon the progress it has made in the
last third of a century; and I congratulate you more
because as a people we are more united, more devoted to
noble and common purposes than we have been since
the foundation of the federal Union. [Applause.] There
are no divisions now. We stood united before a for-
eign foe. "We will stand united until every triumph of
that war has been made permanent. [Applause.]
This, my fellow-citizens, is a fitting conclusion of a
most remarkable trip. Only as one star differs from
another is this different from what has greeted us at
every step. They have all been glorious ; and I leave
this inspiring picture, I leave this wonderful manifes-
tation of gracious hospitality, this scene of devoted-
ness to country and flag, with memories that I shall
carry with me so long as life lasts. [Applause.] And
in this sentiment every one associated with me, I
am sure, fully shares. I go back to my public duties
at Washington strengthened by your warm hearts'
touch [applause] and encouraged to meet the grave re-
sponsibilities which await me as the servant of all the
people, feeling that I shall have your support and your
prayers that I may perform those duties to the honor
of my country and to the best well-being of all con-
cerned. [Prolonged applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. iss
CV.
Speech at Coluivibia, South Carolina, Decejviber
19, 1898.
My Fellotv-Citizens :
This stop was not a part of our itinerary ; but it is as
agreeable as it was unexpected that I am permitted to
greet my fellow-citizens of the city of Columbia. I am
glad to meet the citizens of the State and also the
soldiers of the United States encamped in yom- vicinity.
A government like ours rests upon the intelligence,
morality, and patriotism of the people. These consti-
tute our strength; and in a history of more than a
hundred years filled with great achievements and
marked by unparalleled progress, they have never
failed. They make good citizenship, and good citizen-
ship is necessary to material advancement. The ma-
jority of the people have always been on the side of
right action and good government. In this year 1898,
one of the most glorious, there have been such mani-
festations of good feeling, of good will, of loyalty, upon
the part of all the people of all sections of the country,
as have been unprecedented in our history. [Applause.]
Each has rivaled the other in devotion to the old flag.
[Applause.] It is a happy omen for our country in
view of the vast problems that await us in the near
future. And let us here in South Carolina, and in
every other State of the American Union, devote our-
selves to the preservation of this great political struc-
ture, resolved that the " government of the people, by
184 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
the people, and for the people shall not perish from
the earth." It cannot so long as it continues deeply
rooted in the affection of its citizens. [Applause.]
CVI.
Remarks at New London, Connecticut,
February 16, 1899.
My Felloiv-Citkens :
This unexpected call upon the part of my fellow-
citizens of the State of Connecticut is most gratifying
to me. I congratulate you all upon the splendid busi-
ness conditions of our country ; upon the patriotism of
our people ; upon a peace that has been secured with
honor to the valor of our soldiers on land and the hero-
ism of our sailors on sea. We have a great country,
one in which we all feel a just and sincere pride ; and
to us, and to those who shall come after us, will be
transmitted the responsibility of preserving unimpaired
the liberty we now enjoy, and of carrying forward to
future generations its free institutions. [Great ap-
plause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. iss
CVII.
Speech at Dinner of the Hojie Market Club,
Boston, February 16, 1899.
Mr. President, Members of the Home Mar'ket Cluh, Ladies
and Gentlemen :
I have been deeply and profoundly moved by this
manifestation of your good will and the cordial welcome
extended by the governor of your great commonwealth,
as well as by the chief executive officer of this the
principal city of your State. I thank the governor of
the commonwealth of Massachusetts, I thank the mayor
of the city of Boston, for their warm and generous
words of greeting.
My fellow-citizens, the years go quickly. It seems
not so long, but it is, in fact, six years, since it was my
honor to be a guest of the Home Market Club. Much
has happened in the intervening time. Issues which
were then engaging us have been settled or put aside
for larger and more absorbing ones. Domestic con-
ditions have improved and are generally satisfactory.
We have made progress in industry and have realized
the prosperity for which we have been striving. We
had four long years of adversity, which taught us some
lessons that will never be unlearned, and which will
be valuable in guiding our future action. We have not
only been successful in our financial and business affairs,
but in a war with a foreign power which has added
great glory to American arms and a new chapter to
American history. [Great applause.]
186 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
I do not know why, in the year 1899, this republic has
unexpectedly had placed before it mighty problems which
it must face and meet. They have come and are here,
and they could not be kept away. Many who were im-
patient for the conflict a year ago, apparently heedless
of its larger results, are the first to cry out against the
far-reaching consequences of their own act. Those of
us who dreaded war most, and whose every effort was
directed to prevent it, had fears of new and grave prob-
lems which might follow its inauguration.
The evolution of events, which no man could control,
has brought these problems upon us. Certain it is that
they have not come through any fault on our own part,
but as a high obligation ; and we meet them with clear
conscience and unselfish purpose, and with good heart
resolve to undertake their solution. [Applause.]
War was declared in April, 1898, with practical una-
nimity by Congress, and, once upon us, was sustained
by like unanimity among the people. There had been
many who tried to avert it, as, on the other hand,
there were many who would have precipitated it at an
early date. In its prosecution and conclusion the great
majority of our countrymen of every section believed
they were fighting in a just cause, and at home or at sea
or in the field they had part in its glorious triumphs.
It was the war of an undivided nation. Every great act
in its progress, from Manila to Santiago, from Guam to
Porto Rico, met universal and hearty commendation.
The protocol commanded the practically unanimous ap-
proval of the American people. It was welcomed by
every lover of peace beneath the flag.
The Philippines, like Cuba and Porto Rico, were in-
trusted to our hands by the war, and to that great trust,
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. is?
under the providence of God and in the name of human
progress and ci\dlization, we are committed. [Great
applause.] It is a trust we have not sought ; it is a
trust from which we will not flinch. The American
people wiU hold up the hands of their servants at home
to whom they commit its execution, while Dewey and
Otis and the brave men whom they command will have
the support of the country in upholding our flag where
it now floats, the symbol and assm-ance of liberty and
justice. [Great applause.]
What nation was ever able to write an accurate pro-
gram of the war upon which it was entering, much less
decree in advance the scope of its results? Congress
can declare war, but a higher Power decrees its bounds
and fixes its relations and responsibilities. The Presi-
dent can direct the movements of soldiers in the field
and fleets upon the sea, but he cannot foresee the close
of such movements or prescribe their limits. He
cannot anticipate or avoid the consequences, but he
must meet them. No accurate map of nations engaged
in war can be traced until the war is over, nor can
the measure of responsibility be fixed till the last gun
is fired and the verdict embodied in the stipulations of
peace.
We hear no complaint of the relations created by the
war between this government and the islands of Cuba
and Porto Rico. There are some, however, who regard
the Philippines as in a different relation ; but whatever
variety of views there may be on this phase of the
question, there is universal agreement that the Philip-
pines shall not be turned back to Spain. [Great ap-
plause.] No true American consents to that. Even if
unwilling to accept them ourselves, it would have been
188 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
a weak evasion of duty to require Spain to transfer
them to some other power or powers, and thus shirk
our own responsibility. Even if we had had, as we did
not have, the power to compel such a transfer, it could
not have been made without the most serious inter-
national complications. Such a course could not be
thought of. And yet, had we refused to accept the ces-
sion of them, we should have had no power over them,
even for their own good. We could not discharge the
responsibilities upon us until these islands became ours
either by conquest or treaty. There was but one alter-
native, and that was either Spain or the United States
in the Philippines. [Prolonged applause.] The other
suggestions—first, that they should be tossed into the
arena of contention for the strife of nations ; or, second,
be left to the anarchy and chaos of no protectorate at
all— were too shameful to be considered. The treaty
gave them to the United States. Could we have re-
quired less and done our duty? [Cries of "No!"]
Could we, after freeing the Filipinos from the dom-
ination of Spain, have left them without government
and without power to protect life or property or to per-
form the international obligations essential to an inde-
pendent state ? Could we have left them in a state of
anarchy and justified ourselves in our own consciences
or before the tribunal of mankind"? Could we have
done that in the sight of God or man ?
Our concern was not for territory or trade or empire,
but for the people whose interests and destiny, without
our willing it, had been put in our hands. [Great ap-
plause.] It was with this feeling that, from the first day
to the last, not one word or line went from the Executive
in Washington to our military and naval commanders
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 189
at Manila, or to our peace commissioners at Paris, that
did not put as the sole purpose to be kept in mind, first
after the success of our arms and the maintenance of
our own honor, the welfare and happiness and the rights
of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. [Great and
long-continued applause.] Did we need their consent
to perform a great act for humanity ? We had it in
every aspiration of their minds, in every hope of
their hearts. Was it necessary to ask their consent to
capture Manila, the capital of their islands? [Laugh-
ter.] Did we ask their consent to liberate them from
Spanish sovereignty, or to enter Manila Bay and destroy
the Spanish sea-power there ? We did not ask these
things; we were obeying a higher moral obligation,
which rested on us and which did not require any-
body's consent. [Great applause and cheering.] We
were doing our duty by them, as God gave us the light to
see our duty, with the consent of our own consciences
and with the approval of civilization. [Applause.]
Every present obhgation has been met and fulfilled in
the expulsion of Spanish sovereignty from their islands ;
and while the war that destroyed it was in progress we
could not ask their views. Nor can we now ask their
consent. Indeed, can any one tell me in what form it
could be marshaled and ascertained until peace and
order, so necessary to the reign of reason, shall be se-
cured and established ? [Applause.] A reign of terror
is not the kind of rule under which right action and
deliberate judgment are possible. It is not a good time
for the liberator to submit important questions concern-
ing liberty and government to the liberated while they
are engaged in shooting down their rescuers. [Applause
and cheering.]
190 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
We have now ended the war with Spain. The treaty
has been ratified by the votes of more than two thirds
of the Senate of the United States, and by the judgment
of nine tenths of its people. [Applause.] No nation was
ever more fortunate in war or more honorable in its
negotiations in peace. Spain is now eliminated from
the problem. It remains to ask what we shall now do.
I do not intrude upon the duties of Congress or seek to
anticipate or forestall its action. I only say that the
treaty of peace, honorably secured, having been ratified
by the United States, and, as we confidently expect,
shortly to be ratified by Spain, Congress will have the
power, and I am sure the purpose, to do what, in good
morals, is right and just and humane for these peoples
in distant seas. [Applause.]
It is sometimes hard to determine what is best to do,
and the best thing to do is oftentimes the hardest. The
prophet of evil would do nothing [laughter] because he
flinches at sacrifice and effort, and to do nothing is
easiest and involves the least cost. [Laughter.] On
those who have things to do there rests a responsibility
which is not on those who have no obhgations as doers.
If the doubters were in a majority, there would, it is
true, be no labor, no sacrifice, no anxiety, and no bur-
den raised or carried; no contribution from our ease
and purse and comfort to the welfare of others, or even
to the extension of our resources to the welfare of our-
selves. There would be ease, but alas ! there would be
nothing done.
But grave problems come in the life of a nation, how-
ever much men may seek to avoid them. They come
without our seeking,— why, we do not know, and it is
not always given us to know,— but the generation on
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 19I
which they are forced cannot avoid the responsibility
of honestly striving for their solution. [Applause.]
We may not know precisely how to solve them, but we
can make an honest effort to that end, and if made in
conscience, justice, and honor it will not be in vain.
The future of the Philippine Islands is now in the
hands of the American people. [Applause.] Until the
treaty was ratified or rejected, the Executive Depart-
ment of this government could only preserve the peace
and protect life and property. That treaty now com-
mits the free and enfranchised Filipinos to the guiding
hand and the liberalizing influences, the generous sym-
pathies, the uplifting education, not of their American
masters, but of their American emancipators. [Great
applause.] No one can tell to-day what is best for them
or for us. I know no one at this hour who is wise
enough or sufficiently informed to determine what form
of government will best subserve their interests and
our interests, their and our well-being.
If we knew everything by intuition— and I sometimes
think that there are those who believe that if we do not
they do [laughter and applause]— we should not need
information ; but, unfortunately, most of us are not in
that happy state. This whole subject is now with Con-
gress ; and Congress is the voice, the conscience, and
the judgment of the American people. Upon their
judgment and conscience can we not rely f I believe in
them. I trust them. I know of no better or safer human
tribunal than the people. [Great applause.]
Until Congress shall direct otherwise, it will be the
duty of the Executive to possess and hold the Philip-
pines, giving to the people thereof peace and order and
beneficent government; affording them every oppor-
192 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
tunity to prosecute their lawful pursuits ; encouraging
them in thrift and industry ; making them feel and know
that we are their friends, not tlieir enemies, that their
good is our aim, that their welfare is our welfare, but
that neither their aspirations nor ours can be realized
uutil our authority is acknowledged and unquestioned.
[Loud and enthusiastic applause.]
That the inhabitants of the Philippines will be bene-
fited by this republic is my unshaken belief. That
they will have a kindlier government under our guid-
ance, and that they will be aided in every possible way
to be a self-respecting and self-governing people, is as
true as that the American people love liberty and have
an abiding faith in their own government and in their
own institutions. [Great applause.] No imperial designs
lurk in the American mind. They are alien to American
sentiment, thought, and purpose. Our priceless prin-
ciples undergo no change under a tropical sim. They
go with the flag. [Long-continued applause.]
Why read ye not the changeless truth,
The free can conquer but to save? [Great applause.]
If we can benefit these remote peoples, who will ob-
ject ? If, in the years of the future, they are established
in government under law and liberty, who will regret
our perils and sacrifices? Who will not rejoice in our
heroism and humanity ? Always perils, and always after
them safety; always darkness and clouds, but always
shining through them the light and the sunshine; al-
ways cost and sacrifice, but always after them the frui-
tion of liberty, education, and civilization. [Enthusias-
tic applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 193
I have no light or knowledge not common to my
countrymen. I do not prophesy. The present is all-
absorbing to me. But I cannot bound my vision by the
blood-stained trenches around Manila,— where every red
drop, whether from the veins of an American soldier or
a misguided Filipino, is anguish to my heart,— but by
the broad range of future years, when that group of
islands, under the impulse of the year just past, shall
have become the gems and glories of those tropical seas—
a land of plenty and of increasing possibilities ; a people
redeemed from savage indolence and habits, devoted to
the arts of peace, in touch with the commerce and trade
of all nations, enjoying the blessings of freedom, of civil
and religious liberty, of education, and of homes, and
whose children and children's children shall for ages
hence bless the American republic because it emanci-
pated and redeemed their fatherland, and set them in
the pathway of the world's best civilization. [Prolonged
applause.]
CVIII.
Speech at G. A. R. Encampment, Boston,
February 17, 1899.
Mr. Commander, Comrades of the Grand Army of the Re-
public :
I count myself most fortunate to find, upon my visit
to the city of Boston, my comrades of the Grand Army
of the Republic in session in the same city, thus giving
me an opportunity once again to look into your friendly
faces and exchange the friendly greetings of comrade-
ship with you. [Applause.]
13
194 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
You fought in a holy cause, which, under the provi-
dence of God, triumphed. You fought in a cause which
made this the freest and best and greatest government
beneath the sun. As I heard your cheers this morning,
I felt that you still had the old spirit of '61. [Pro-
longed applause and cheers.]
You were not only good soldiers, my comrades, main-
taining in the battle's front the honor and integrity of
the flag we loved so much, but since the war, as citi-
zens, you have ever been loyal and faithful, preserving
in peace the government which you secured in war.
The sad feature about all these reunions is that our
numbers are diminishing. Every annual roll-call dis-
closes one or another of our comrades not present, but
accounted for. They have gone to join their comrades
on the other side, now in the majority. It has occurred
to me, as it has to every old soldier of the war, that the
conspicuous commanders, those who gave orders we
loved to obey, have all gone from among us— Grant and
Sherman and Sheridan and Logan and Hancock, and a
long line besides, whose names are treasured in the
memories of the soldiers of the republic. [Great ap-
plause.]
I am glad to meet you here this morning. I am glad
to have had the opportunity of living, as you have had
the opportunity of living, in this last year, when the
American people have again manifested their patriot-
ism, theii- love of country, their devotion to American
honor. [Cheers.]
May I suggest to you here this morning that you will
have to increase the Grand Army of the Republic? I
do not know how you will do it, but I want to see all
the brave men of the Spanish War, North and South, in
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 195
some great patriotic organization, and I know none
better than the Grand Army of the Republic. [Shouts
of " Good ! " and applause.]
CIX.
Speech to the General Court, Boston,
February 17, 1899.
Mr, Fresident, Gentlemen of the General Court:
Although limited for time, I could not deny myself
the honor of accepting the invitation, officially extended
by joint resolution of your honorable body, which I had
the pleasure of receiving from the hands of your distin-
guished senior senator, Hon. George F. Hoar. I am
not indifferent to your generous action, and it cannot
be more sincere than the feeling of pleasui'e which I
have in meeting the senators and representatives of the
great commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In this ancient capitol great public questions have
had free discussion. Here great statesmen, whose names
live in their country's history, have received their train-
ing and voiced the enlightened opinions of their coun-
trymen. Here, through the century, you have chosen
your fellow-citizens to represent you in the councils of
the nation through that great parliamentary body, the
Senate of the United States. You have chosen well, and
leaders you have never lacked. [Applause.]
What illustrious men have thus borne the commission
of the legislative body of the commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts!— Adams and Pickering and Webster, Choate
and Everett and Winthrop, Sumner, Wilson, and a long
196 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
list besides, illustrious in the annals of your State and
of the nation ; and those later statesmen, Hoar and
Lodge, honored everywhere for their distinguished ser-
vices to our common country. [Great applause.]
It was in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
that John A. Andrew made the speech for human liberty
which touched the hearts of his fellow-citizens and made
him your great war governor. [Applause.] And at
one time the Speaker's chair of this legislative body was
occupied by your former governor and representative in
Congress, the able Secretary of the Navy, Hon. John
D. Long, whose great department has added luster to
the American navy and glory to the American name.
[Great applause.]
I am glad to be on this historic ground. It revives
memories sacred in American life. It recalls the struggles
of the founders of Massachusetts for liberty and inde-
pendence. Their unselfish sacrifices, their dauntless
courage, are the inspiration of all lovers of freedom
everywhere. Their lives and character reach into every
American home, and have stimulated the best aspira-
tions of American manhood.
In the beginning of our national existence, and even
before, this was the home and fountain of liberty. It
is the home of liberty now ; and I am sure that what
these great men of the past secured for us they would
have us not only transmit to our descendants, but carry
to oppressed peoples whose interest and welfare by the
fortunes of war are committed to us. [Great applause.]
We may regard the situation before us as a burden
or as an opportunity ; but whether the one or the other,
it is here, and conscience and civilization require us to
meet it bravely. Desertion of duty is not an American
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 197
habit. It was not the custom of the fathers and will
not be the practice of their sons. [Prolonged applause.]
ex.
Speech at the Coiumercial Club Reception, Boston,
February 17, 1899.
3fr. President and Gentlemen of the Commercial Club :
My thanks are due first to the president of your asso-
ciation for his generous words of welcome and his expres-
sion of approval of that which has been accomplished in
the past two years. I thank this club as a body for this
expression of its good will.
This country as a nation has much to congratulate
itself upon. Your president has alluded to one or two
things. "We were never in aU our history on such good
terms with each other, North and South, East and
West, as we are at this hour. [Applause.]
The union of hearts and the union of hands were never
stronger than in this year 1899. [Renewed applause.]
More than all, we are to-day on more cordial relations
with aU the world than we have been for many years.
The treaty of peace has been ratified and we are no
longer at war. Whatever the difi'erence of opinion in
Massachusetts, to which reference has been made, I
have discovered that when there is a crisis, national
or otherwise, Massachusetts stands for national credit
and national honor. [Prolonged applause.] I am
pleased to meet the men about this board— men of
letters, men of the law, as well as the men of business.
I have been glad to meet the representative of Har-
198 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
vard College here. I like old Harvard. [Applause.] I
like tke Harvard men. I still have cause to be grateful
to them. They gave to the nation an Otis at Manila
[applause], and Lawton, who led our forces at El Caney
[renewed applause], and Roosevelt [cheers], and last, but
not least, Leonard Wood. [Prolonged applause.] Nor
can I ever forget that Harvard furnished to me and to
the country the Secretary of the Navy, John D. Long.
[Cheers and tumultuous applause.]
I learned my lessons in liberty from the people of
Massachusetts. [Enthusiastic applause.]
But, fellow-citizens, as I started out to say to you,
I am glad to meet the members of the Commercial
Club and the business men of Boston here assembled.
I rejoice with them upon the better conditions of trade
now prevailing throughout the country. The last twelve
months have marked great changes and brought busi-
ness improvement to industrial America. The man of
affairs feels better because his affairs are in a better
state. He is more comfortable than he has been for
many years. He has taken on new courage and confi-
dence. He is satisfied with the revenue and financial
policies of his country. He can now make accurate
calculation on the future.
The past year has recorded a volume of business,
domestic and foreign, unparalleled in any former opera-
tions of the United States. Our enormous export trade
has made American balances satisfactory, and almost
for the first time the money of the country has been so
abundant, and the wealth of the country so great, that
our capitalists have sought foreign investments. We
are fast going from a debtor to a creditor nation. I
hope nothing will check it. We have quit discussing
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 199
the tariff, and have turned our attention to getting
trade wherever it can be found. It will be a long time
before any change can be had or any change will be
desired in our present fiscal policy, except to strengthen
it. The differences on this question which existed have
disappeared, for the time at least. We have turned
from academic theories to trade conditions, and are
seeking our share of the world's markets.
Not only is our business good, but our money is good.
There is no longer any fear of debased currency; it
has been happily dispelled. The highest and best stan-
dard recognized by the leading commercial nations has
been maintained, and it has been done so far without
a resort to loans. The cause of sound money has ad-
vanced in the last two years. Honest finance has made
positive gains. I do not think we quite appreciate yet
the full measure of its success.
Both branches of Congress on the 4th of March next
will have an unquestioned majority opposed to any
demoralization of our currency, and committed to up-
hold the world's standard. Certainly for two years every
branch of the national government will be united for good
currency and the inviolability of our national obhga-
tions and credit. The investments and enterprises of the
people can therefore not be unsettled by sudden changes.
We have been engaged in war. Two hundred and
seventy thousand of our citizens have been in the field ;
our sailors have been afloat in two hemispheres ; and
yet the business of the country has been steadily grow-
ing, our resources multiplying, the energj^ of our people
has been quickened, and, at the end of our glorious land
and naval triumphs, we find the country in a condition
of almost unparalleled activity and prosperity.
200 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
Our domestic situation is fortunate indeed, consider-
ing the new questions wliich we must meet and solve.
That they will be settled on the lines of right and duty
I cannot doubt, and that the business men of Boston
and of the whole country will be an active and helpful
force in their rightful solution I confidently believe.
[Great applause.]
CXI.
Remarks at the Dinner at the Union League,
Philadelphia, April 27, 1899.
Mr. Converse, Gentlemen of the Union League :
I rise simply that I may thank the Union League for
its welcome and the many manifestations of good will
which it has shown to me. I am specially glad to be
here to-day to join with the people of Philadelphia in
honoring the great warrior who saved the American
Union. [Applause.] If we will always be loyal to his
memory we shall always be faithful to the Union. [Ap-
plause.]
The Baldwin Locomotive Works does not always fol-
low the flag, but often precedes it [laughter], and I am
told that its products are everywhere. [Laughter.] In-
deed, the city of Philadelphia is getting everywhere.
[Laughter.] It is doing as the army and navy have
been doing in the last twelve months. [x\pplause.] I
am told you are about to span the Nile with a bridge
built in the city of Philadelphia. [Applause.]
I thank you for your warm greeting, and I propose
the toast " Our Splendid Army and Navy." [Loud
applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 201
CXII.
Speech at the Academy op Music, Philadelphia,
Aprh. 27, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I cannot add a single word to the just and beautiful
tribute paid to the great warrior by your fellow-citizen
in this presence to-night.
Half a dozen years ago I was in Galena, delivering
an address at the unveiling of a statue to General
Grant, and this story was told to me : That General
Grant, then a captain and out of the service, presided
over their first Union meeting in 1861 — the first meet-
ing after the call for volunteers. The meeting was a
large one, held in the old court-house, and inquiries
were made all over the room who it was that was thus
called to preside over that important patriotic assem-
bly. Some one said, ''It is Captain Grant." "Well,
who is Captain Grant? We never heard of him." In
four years from that time he presided over the greatest
Union meeting ever held beneath the flag, at Appomat-
tox Court-House, and his name was upon every lip [ap-
plause], and his face was familiar to every American
home. Subsequently he was greeted by all races, and
filled the whole world with his fame as he journeyed in
the pathway of the sun. [Applause.] He was a great
soldier. Lincoln issued the proclamation of emancipa-
tion ; but it took the guns of Grant to give life to that
decree. He will be remembered for all time and his
name forever cherished as the soldier who preserved
202 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
the Union of the States. He had a sacred attachment
for the old soldiers. The last time that the public ever
looked upon his face in life was on the occasion of the
parade of the Grand Army of the Republic in the city
of New York only a little while before General Grant's
death ; and against the protests of his friends and of his
physicians he was carried to the window of his house
for a last look upon his comrades. [Applause.] It was
a scene never to be forgotten, and attested his undying
love for those who had followed him from Shiloh to
Vicksburg and Appomattox.
He not only achieved great victories in war and great
administrative triumphs in peace, but he was permitted
to do what is given to few men to do— to live long
enough to write with his own pen the history he had
made in command of the armies of the United States.
[Applause.] And what a splendid history it is ! It should
be read by all the boys and girls of the land, for it teUs,
in his just and simple and honest but most forceful
way, the trials and triumphs and hopes of the army over
which he was supreme commander. And when he had
finished that work he laid down his pen, and, like a good
soldier, said to his Master, ''Thy wiU be done." He
is gone who was so great. He brought the flag of our
country back without a single star erased ; and it is a
glorious fact to know that the Union which he saved
by his sword, and the peace for which he prayed in
his last moments, are secured. [Loud applause.] It is
gratifying to us to know, as lovers of the great war-
rior, that the men against whom he fought in that
great civil struggle, and their descendants, carried, with
the men of the North and their descendants, the glo-
rious banner of the free at Santiago, El Caney, and Ma-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 203
nila [cheers and applause] ; and that we have a Union
to-day stronger and grander than ever before, for it is
a Union of hearts, North and South, a Union indissolu-
ble, and a Union never to be broken. [Applause.] The
flag which Grant and his mighty army made glorious
has lost none of its luster as it has been carried by the
army and navy of the United States on sea and land in
two hemispheres. [Great cheering.] So long as we per-
petuate in our hearts the memory of Grant, so long will
this nation be secure and enduring. [Great applause.]
CXIII.
Remarks on Board the U. S. S. " Raleigh,"
Philadelphia, April 28, 1899.
Captain Coglilan, Men of tJie " Raleigh " :
It gives me great pleasure to bid you welcome home
and to congratulate you, and each one of you, upon the
heroic part you bore in the great battle on the 1st of
May at Manila, which was a most glorious triumph to
American arms, and made a new and glorious page in
American history. I assure you that when I give you
welcome I am only speaking the heart's welcome of
seventy-five millions of American citizens, who honor
you all for your splendid services to our country. This
feeling not only extends to your great admiral, whom
we all love and honor, but to the humblest member of
the crew who was in that great fleet at Manila Bay.
I give you all warm and generous welcome and my
thanks.
204 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
CXIV.
Speech at Harrisonburg, Virginia, May 20, 1899.
Fellow-Citizens :
The very warm and generous welcome which has been
extended on your behalf by Colonel Roller is altogether
an unexpected pleasure, and all the more appreciated,
for in passing so rapidly through your valley I had
no thought that I would be thus greeted by the people
of Rockingham County. I am glad, my fellow-citizens,
to look upon your beautiful valley once more— one of
the richest and most attractive in our great country.
It is a rich heritage you possess and enjoy.
I heartily join with your speaker in congratulations
upon a reunited country. [Applause.] We are now
happily one in purpose and one in patriotism. [Pro-
longed applause.]
I congratulate you upon the evidences of prosperity
that I see at every hand. It is a common prosperity,
participated in by both the North and the South. [Ap-
plause.]
It now rests upon us and those who follow us to see
to it that this Union of States established by the fathers,
representing liberty and justice, representing the highest
opportunities and blessings, " shall not perish from the
earth." [Cheers.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 205
cxv.
Speech on the Occasion op the Conferring of
THE Degree of Doctor of Civil Law at Mount
Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts,
June 20, 1899.
Mrs. Mead, Ladies and Gentlemen :
In this presence I cannot refrain from making
acknowledgment of the very distinguished honor which
the Board of Trustees and the officers of this institution
have been pleased to confer upon me. I want to assure
the young ladies of the graduating class that I am both
dehsrhted and honored to be a member of the class of
'99. [Applause.]
Massachusetts has been and is favored in many
things, but in nothing more than in her educational
institutions. I count myself most fortunate to have
been privileged yesterday to look upon the faces of the
graduates of Smith College, that splendid institution
for the education of women. And I count myself
most fortunate to-day to look upon the faces of the
graduates of this historic institution that has done so
much for the exaltation of womanhood, and whose influ-
ence is felt, not alone in Massachusetts, but in every
part of our common country— Mount Holyoke, more
than sixty years old to-day ! And its influence in
molding and shaping the citizenship of the nation
can never be told. I am glad that we are demonstrating
in the United States to-day that the boy should have
no more advantage than the girl [applause] ; and Mount
206 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Holyoke and Smith, and a lialf-dozen other institutions
of the land, are demonstrating that fact. Educated
womanhood is an open school for citizenship every day
of the year, and the home is the training-school for
the author and the soldier and the statesman.
I wish for this graduating class every good thing, and
I want you to be assured that all good things wait upon
a pure and noble womanhood. [Applause.]
CXVI.
Speech at Springfield, Massachusetts,
June 21, 1899.
3Iy FeUoiv-Citizens :
I desire to express the very great pleasure I have had
in the generous welcome extended to me by the people
of the city of Springfield.
This would be a good time for Springfield to take a
census. [Applause and laughter.] I am prepared for
any ascertained population your enumerators may find
this year. [Applause.] I have been glad during the
day to witness the devotion of your people, old and
young, to the flag that all of us love [applause and
cheers] ; to meet the veterans of '61 and '65, who carried
that flag to honor and glory [applause and cheers] ;
and to meet the members of the gallant Second
Massachusetts, who carried that flag and brought it
back with added glory from the fields of Santiago.
[Applause.] I was glad to see the colors of the old
banner in the hands of the ten thousand school-children
of the city of Springfield. [Applause and cheers.] It
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 207
represents to-day more than it ever did before. It
does not stand for despotism— it stands for peace and
progress and liljerty and law and kindly government
wherever its sacred folds float. [Cheers.]
I thank you for this reception, and, being unable to
shake hands with all of you, I reluctantly bid you good-
by. [Prolonged cheering.]
CXVII.
Speech at the Reception of the Grand Ar^iy
Post, Adasis, Massachusetts, June 24, 1899.
Comrades of the Grand Army :
While we are all getting older and grayer, I discover
that your voices are quite as strong as they were in '61
and '65. [Cheers.] You cheer now very much as you
cheered then. I cannot forbear congratulating you upon
this beautiful room in which you hold your post meet-
ings. I think there are very few post-rooms in the
country more accessible or more comfortable than the
one which you are privileged to occupy. I am glad to
recall the fact that two years ago I assisted my comrades
here in laying the corner-stone of this Memorial Library
building. I congratulate you upon the completion of
the structure. [Loud cheering and applause.]
208 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
CXVIII.
Speech at Adajis, Massachusetts, June 26, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citkens :
I am always glad to come to Adams, and always regret
going away. While I leave you regretfully, I go with
the hope of an early visit among you again. [Cheers.J
It has been a great pleasure to me to note the prog-
ress you have made since I first visited you seven
years ago. I was here then to participate in the open-
ing of one of your great mills. I rejoice to know that
another one of like size was added a few years later,
and it gave me uncommon gratification this morning to
take part in the laying of the corner-stone of still
another, which is to be larger than any that have pre-
ceded it. [Applause and cheers.] This means work
and wages; and work and wages mean happy homes
and happy firesides ; and happy homes and happy fii-e-
sides make a good community, good citizens, and a
great country. [Prolonged cheering.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 209
CXIX.
Speech at the Catholic Summer School, Cliff
Haven, New York, August 15, 1899.
Father Lavelle, Members of the Catholic Summer School,
Ladies and Gentlemen :
I had not intended to say a word, but I cannot sit in
silence in the presence of this demonstration of your
good will and patriotism. I cannot forbear to give ex-
pression of my very high appreciation of the welcome
you have given me here to-day, and the kindly words
of commendation uttered by your president.
Whatever the government of the United States has
been able to accomplish since I last met you in this
audience-chamber has been accomplished because the
hearts of the people have been with it. [Applause.]
Our patriotism is neither sectional nor sectarian. [Ap-
plause.] "We may differ in our political and religi-
ous beliefs, but we are united for country. [Applause.]
Loyalty to the government is our national creed. We
follow, all of us, one flag. [Applause.] It symbo-
lizes our purposes and our aspirations; it represents
what we believe and what we mean to maintain ; and
wherever it floats, it is the flag of the free [prolonged
applause], the hope of the oppressed; and wherever
it is assailed, at any sacrifice, it will be carried to a
triumphant peace. [Tremendous applause, long con-
tinued.] We have more flags here than we ever had
before. [Applause.] They are in evidence everywhere.
I saw them carried by the little ones on your lawn.
14
210 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
[Applause.] That flag floats from the homes of the
milhons ; even from our places of worship, from our
school-houses, from the shops and the factories, from
the mining towns; and it waves from the camp of the
pioneer on the distant outpost, and on the lumberman's
hut in the dense forest. It is found in the home of the
humblest toiler, and what it represents is dear to his
heart. Rebellion may delay, but it can never defeat
its blessed mission of liberty and humanity. [Long-con-
tinued applause and cheers.]
cxx.
Speech at Ocean Grove, New Jersey,
August 25, 1899.
BisJiop Fitzgerald, Ladies and Gentlemen :
"Words seem very poor to express my appreciation
of your kindly welcome. I have come to pay my
respects to the Ocean Grove Association, and to thank
it for the magnificent work it has done in the past,
and for the still greater work which it will accomplish
in the future. Piety and patriotism go well together.
[Applause.] Love of flag, love of country, are not in-
consistent with our religious faith; and I think we
have more love for our country and more people love
our flag than ever before. [Great applause.] And what
that flag has done for us we want it to do for all peo-
ples and all lands which, by the fortunes of war, may
come within its jurisdiction. [Prolonged applause.]
Tliat flag does not mean one thing in the United
States and another thing in Porto Rico and the Philip-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 211
pines. [Applause.] There has been doubt expressed
in some quarters as to the purpose of the government
respecting the Philippines. I can see no harm in
stating it in this presence. [Applause.] Peace first
[loud applause] ; then, with charity for all, the estab-
lishment of a government of law and order [applause],
protecting life and property and occupation for the
well-being of the people, in which they will participate
under the Stars and Stripes. [Prolonged applause.]
I have said more than I intended to, and I only want
to express, in conclusion, the j)leasure it has given me
to look into the faces of this great assembly of Metho-
dists [applause], and to receive your cordial greetings.
[Great applause.]
CXXI.
Address before the Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment,
United States Volunteers, Schenley Park, Pitts-
BLTiG, August 28, 1899.
Governor Stone and my Fellow-CUizens :
I am glad to participate with the families, friends,
and fellow-citizens of the Tenth Pennsylvania Volun-
teers in this glad reunion.
You have earned the plaudits, not alone of the people
of Pennsylvania, but of the whole nation. Your return
has been the signal for a great demonstration of popu-
lar regard from your landing at the Golden Gate on the
Pacific to your home-coming; and here you find a
warmth of welcome and a greeting from joyous hearts
which tell better than words the estimate of your
countrymen, and their high appreciation of the services
212 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
you have rendered the country. You made secure and
permanent the victory of Dewey. [Great applause.] You
added new glory to American arms. You and your
brave comrades engaged on other fields of conflict have
enlarged the map of the United States and extended
the jurisdiction of American liberty. [Continued great
applause.]
But while we share in the joy that is yours, there
remain with us softened and hallowed memories of
those who went forth with you, not found in your
ranks to-day. Your noble colonel, devoted to his men,
beloved by his command, and respected by his superior
officers, gave his life to his country, with many others
of his comrades. The nation sorrows with the bereaved.
These heroes died for their country, and there is no
nobler death.
Our troops represented the courage and conscience,
the purpose and patriotism, of their country. "Whether
in Cuba, Porto Rico, or the Philippines, or at home
awaiting orders, they did their full duty, and all sought
the post of greatest peril. They never faltered. The
Eighth Army-Corps in the Philippines has made a
proud and exceptional record. Privileged to be mustered
out in April, when the ratifications of the treaty of
peace were exchanged, they did not claim the privilege—
they declined it. They voluntarily remained in the ser-
vice, and declared their purpose to stay until their
places could be filled by new levies, and longer if the
government needed them. Their service — and they
understood it— was not to be in camp or garrison, free
from danger, but on the battle-line, where exposure
and death confronted them, and where both have
exacted their victims.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 213
They did not stack arms. They did not run away.
They were not serving the insurgents in the Philip-
pines or their sympathizers at home. [Prolonged ap-
plause.] They had no part or patience with the men,
few in number, happily, who would have rejoiced to see
them lay down their arms in the presence of an enemy
whom they had just emancipated from Spanish rule,
and who should have been our firmest friend.
They furnished an example of devotion and sacrifice
which will brighten the glorious record of American
valor. They have secured not alone the gratitude of
the government and the people, but for themselves and
their descendants an imperishable distinction. They
may not fully appreciate, and the country may not, the
heroism of their conduct and its important support to
the government. I think I do, and so I am here to
express it. [Applause.]
The mighty army of volunteers and regulars, number-
ing over two hundred and fifty thousand, which last
year responded to the call of the government with an
alacrity without precedent or parallel, by the terms of
their enlistment were to be mustered out, with all of the
regulars above twenty-seven thousand, when peace with
Spain was effected. Peace brought us the Philippines,
by treaty cession from Spain. The Senate of the United
States ratified the treaty. Every step taken was in
obedience to the requirements of the Constitution.
There was no flaw in the title, and no doubtful methods
were employed to obtain it. [Great applause.] It be-
came our territory, and is ours as much as the Louisiana
Purchase, or Texas, or Alaska. A body of insurgents,
in no sense representing the sentiment of the people of
the islands, disputed our lawful authority, and even be-
214 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
fore tlie ratification of the treaty by tlie American
Senate were attacking the very forces who fought for
and secured their freedom
This was the situation in April, 1899, the date of the
exchange of ratifications— only twenty-seven thousand
regulars subject to the unquestioned direction of the
Executive, and they for the most part on duty in Cuba
and Porto Rico, or invaUded at home after their severe
campaign in the tropics. Even had they been available,
it would have required months to transport them to the
Philippines. Practically a new army had to be created.
These loyal volunteers in the Philij)pines said: ''We
will stay until the government can organize an army at
home and transport it to the seat of hostilities."
They did stay, cheerfully, uncomplainingly, patriot-
ically. They suffered and sacrificed, they fought and
fell, they drove back and punished the rebels who re-
sisted federal authority, and who with force attacked the
sovereignty of the United States in its newly acquired
territory. Without them then and there we would have
been practically helpless on land, our flag would have
had its first stain, and the American name its first
ignominy. The brilliant victories of the army and navy
in the bay and city of Manila would have been won in
vain, our obligations to civilization would have remained
temporarily unperformed, chaos would have reigned,
and whatever government there was would have been
by the will of one man, and not with the consent of the
governed. Who refused to sound the retreat? Who
stood in the breach when others weakened? Who re-
sisted the suggestion of the unpatriotic that they should
come home ?
Let me call the roll of honor— let me name the regi-
OF WILLIAM McKIXLEY. 215
ments and battalions that deserve to be perpetuated in
the nation's annals. Their action was not a sudden
impulse born of excitement, but a deliberate determina-
tion to sustain, at the cost of life, if need be, the honor
of their government and the authority of its flag.
First California, California Artillery, First Colorado,
First Idaho, Fifty-first Iowa, Twentieth Kansas, Thir-
teenth Minnesota, First Montana, First Nebraska, First
North Dakota, Nevada Cavalry, Second Oregon, Tenth
Pennsylvania, First South Dakota, First Tennessee,
Utah Artillery, First Washington, First Wyoming,
Wyoming Battery, First, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth
Companies Volunteer Signal Corps. [Enthusiastic ap-
plause.]
To these must be added about four thousand enlisted
men of the regular army, who were entitled to their dis-
charge under the peace proclamation of April 11, 1899,
the greater portion of whom participated in the engage-
ments of the Eighth Corps, and are still performing
arduous services in the field. [Continued applause.]
Nor must the navy be forgotten. Sixty-five devoted
sailors participated in the engagement of May 1 in Manila
Bay whose terms of service had previously expired, con-
tinuing on duty quite a year after that action. [Con-
tinued applause.]
For these men of the army and navy we have only
honor and gratitude.
The world will never know the restraint of our sol-
diers—their self-control under the most exasperating
conditions. For weeks subjected to the insults and
duplicity of the insurgent leaders, they preserved the
status quo, remembering that they were under an order
from their government sacredly to observe the terms of
216 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
the protocol in letter and spirit, and avoid all conflict,
except in defense, pending the negotiations of the treaty
of peace. They were not the aggressors. They did not
begin hostilities against the insurgents pending the
ratification of the treaty of peace in the Senate, great
as was their justification, because their orders from
Washington forbade it. I take all the responsibility for
that direction. Otis only executed the orders of his
government, and the soldiers, under great provocation
to strike back, obeyed. [Great applause.]
Until the treaty was ratified we had no authority
beyond Manila city, bay, and harbor. We then had no
other title to defend, no authority beyond that to main-
tain. Spain was still in possession of the remainder of
the archipelago. Spain had sued for peace. The truce
and treaty were not concluded. The first blow was
struck by the insurgents, and it was a foul blow. Our
kindness was reciprocated with cruelty, our mercy with
a Mauser. The flag of truce was invoked only to be
dishonored. Our soldiers were shot down while minis-
tering to the wounded Filipinos, our dead were muti-
lated; our humanity was interpreted as weakness, our
forbearance as cowardice.
They assailed our sovereignty ; and there will be no
useless parley, no pause, until the insurrection is sup-
pressed, and American authority acknowledged and
established. [Enthusiastic and long-continued applause.]
The misguided followers in rebellion have only oiu*
charity and pity. As to the ciuel leaders who have
needlessly sacrificed the lives of thousands of their
people, at the cost of some of our best blood, for the
gratification of their own ambitious designs, I will leave
to others the ungracious task of justification and eulogy.
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 217
Every one of the noble men, of the regulars or volun-
teers, soldiers or seamen, who thus signally served their
country in its extremity, deserves the special recogni-
tion of Congress, and it will be to me an unfeigned plea-
sure to recommend for each of them a special medal of
honor. [Great applause.]
Men of the Tenth Pennsylvania, while we give you
hail and greeting from overflowing hearts, we do not
forget, nor wiU you, the brave men who remain and
those who have gone forward to take your places, and
those other brave men who have so promptly volun-
teered, crowding each other to get to the front, to carry
forward to successful completion the work you so nobly
began and so faithfully prosecuted. Our prayers go
with them, and more men and munitions, if required
[great applause], for the speedy suppression of the re-
bellion, the establishment of peace and tranquillity, and
a government under the undisputed sovereignty of the
United States [continued applause] — a government
which will do justice to all, and at once encourage the
best efforts and aspirations of these distant people and
the highest development of their rich and fertile lands.
The government to which you gave your love and
loyalty welcomes you to your homes. With no blot or
stain upon your record, the story of your unselfish ser-
vice to country and to civilization will be, to the men
who take your places at the front and on the firing-
line, and to future generations, an esamj^le of patriotism
and an inspii*ation to duty. [Great and prolonged ap-
plause.]
218 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
CXXII.
Speech at East Liverpool, Ohio, August 28, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I am delighted with the greeting extended by the
citizens of East Liverpool this evening, and assure
you that it is a great pleasure to be here again among
so many of my good friends.
East Liverpool has made great strides in recent years.
I think Colonel Taylor is a little conservative, but he
puts the population now at twenty thousand. I con-
gratulate you upon your marvelous growth and your
unquestioned prosperity. I remember a few years ago
to have told you that you were growing so much that
you were pushing back the hills about you. You are now
covering these same hills with your residences, and you
are expanding so greatly that Ohio is no longer big
enough for you, and you are going over to West Vir-
ginia. [Applause.] A fine bridge now spans the river,
and I am told you are building happy homes on the
other side.
I congratulate you, my fellow-citizens, upon the
condition of the country. I congratulate you not
only upon its prosperity, but also upon its patriot-
ism. "We never had so much patriotism in the
United States as we have to-day. We never had so
many people loving our country and its flag as we
have to-day, and that flag is dearer to us than it ever
was before. [Great applause.] I do not forget, when,
during the last year, we went to war with Spain, the
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 219
generous response of the country, two himclred thou-
sand of our best young men volunteering their services
to fight, and die if need be, for the honor of our flag
[applause] and its integrity everywhere. Nor can I
forget that this city of East Liverpool contributed one
of the companies to the gallant Eighth Ohio, that did
service in front of Santiago. [Applause.]
Having said this, and grateful to you for this re-
ception,—for I assure you that coming to East Liver-
pool awakens tender and sweet and pleasant memories,
and looking into your faces touches my very heart-
strings,—having said this much, and wishing for you
at all times all good things, I bid you good night.
[Long-continued applause.]
CXXIIL
Speech at East Liverpool, Ohio, August 29, 1899.
My Fellou'-Cifiiens :
In this presence I feel quite incapable of making a
fitting response to the gracious expressions extended on
your behalf by your representative in Congress [Repre-
sentative Taylerj. If an3i}hing would make me forget my
fatigue, it would be this friendly greeting, which I know
is straight from the heart. I cannot stand here even for
a moment to give utterance to words of appreciation of
this kindly reception, without recalling that from this
very place, year in and year out, I was in the habit of
meeting this people, and they were kind enough always
to give me generous welcome. [xVpplause.] This city,
through all the years of the past, has been faithful and
220 SPEECHES AXD ADDRESSES
firm in its friendsliip for me. Altliougli I have been
absent from you for now more tlian four years, that
friendship has never been diminished, and my interest
in you, in your city, in your prosperity, in your home
life, in the young men and the young women, in the boj's
and the girls, has never abated. [Applause.] I come back
here finding your city growing, constant improvements
being made, until I have come to believe that the people
of East Liverpool are in favor of expansion, [Laughter
and great applause.]
But I came here for rest, and not to speak, and I
know you will excuse me from any further words, and
permit me to bid you all good night. [Prolonged ap-
plause.]
cxxn^
Remarks at Canton, Ohio, August 30, 1899.
Judge Baldwin and my Felloiv-Citizens :
I appear only for a moment that I may give expres-
sion to my appreciation of the welcome which you have
extended to me to-day. After all, there is no place like
home. And this is my home. Here thirty-two or thirty-
three years ago I commenced my professional life. Here
have been formed some of the most tender and sacred
associations. Some of them, indeed, have been severed,
but this is the seat and the center of my memory.
Heretofore, for nearly a third of a century, you have
given me kindly greeting, words of encouragement, and
showered upon me honor after honor, all undeserved,
and I appear before you now only to express what is in
my heart : that I am glad to see you ; glad to meet you^
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 221
to look into your faces once again, and feel the inspira-
tion of yom' approval. [Loud and prolonged applause.]
cxxv.
Speech at Can'tox, Ohio, August 30, 1899.
Captain Fisher, Officers and Members of the Eighth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and my Fellow-Citizens :
It gives me great pleasure to meet you once more in
this dear old town. I have appreciated during the day
the "warmth of welcome and the heartiness of greeting
■which have been accorded to me by my old neighbors and
friends.
I do not forget, as I stand in this presence, sur-
rounded by these brave boys, that this old county of
Stark was prompt in responding to the call of the govern-
ment for soldiers in this war with Spain. I do not for-
get the alacrity with which they volunteered, and I have
always been proud of the fact, for I noted it with great
satisfaction, that this county furnished quite as many
soldiers, according to its population, as any other county
in the United States. [Applause.]
You have won and earned the nation's gratitude and
praise. You did your full duty in front of Santiago ;
and no higher honor can be paid to the soldier of any
country than to say of him that he did his whole duty.
[Applause.]
You were more fortunate than many of your com-
rades. You got to the seat of hostilities. But every
one of the two hundred thousand splendid young men
who volunteered for that war was anxious to get to the
front and at the place of greatest danger.
222 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
I am glad to meet my fellow-citizens liere to-night. I
am thankful to them for the good will which is mani-
fested by their presence ; and I shall go away from my
city and my home strengthened for the great duties and
responsibilities of the Executive office, and sustained
and encouraged by the kindly expressions of my warm-
hearted friends here. [Great applause.]
CXXVI.
Speech at G. A. R. Encajipiment, Philadelphia,
September 5, 1899.
Comrades of the Grand Army of the Bepuhlic :
It has given me great pleasure to be associated with
you to-day. I have been deeply touched by many of the
scenes which all of us witnessed. With the joyous thought
at the glad reunion of old comrades who had fought
side by side in a common cause and for a common
country, there was that other saddened thought that so
many of our comrades, who, two years ago only, had so
proudly marched with you through the city of Buffalo,
were no longer in your ranks. The circle is narrowing
as the years roll on. One after another at our annual
reunions is not present, but accounted for. He has
gone to join the great majority of our comrades.
But with it all, my comrades, as I witnessed to-day
the vast procession of old veterans, and heard the
plaudits of the people, I could not but ask the ques-
tion: "What has endeared this vast army to the
American people? what has enshrined you in their
hearts? what has given you permanent and imperish-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 223
able place in their liistory?" Aud the answer comes
that you saved the nation. [Applause.] It was because
you did something ; aye, you sacrificed something. You
were willing to give uj) your lives for civilization and
liberty— not for the civilization and liberty of the hour,
but for a civilization and liberty for all ages. [Ap-
plause.]
That has given you a place in the hearts of the Ameri-
can people, and I was, therefore, not surprised to hear
from our comrade, who made the response to the wel-
come of the State and the city, that, from the time they
journeyed from their homes in the far West until they
reached this city, the comrades were everywhere cheered
by the American people.
Great deeds never die [applause], and the Grand Army
of the Republic is to be congratulated to-night that the
Union which it saved, by the peace which it secured at
Appomattox Court-house, is the Union formed more
than a century ago ; and that that Union is stronger,
better, and dearer to the American people than ever.
[Tremendous applause.]
We are once more and forever one people [applause],
one in faith, one in purpose, one in wilUngness to sacri-
fice for the honor of the country and the glory of our
flag. [Applause.]
The Blue and the Gray march under one flag. [Ap-
plause.] We have but one flag now, ^'the same our
grandsires lifted up, the same our fathers bore"— that
flag which you kept stainless and made triumphant.
[Immense applause.]
I may be pardoned for saying in this presence that
this has been one of the happiest days of my life.
[Applause.] I sat looking into the faces of my old com-
224 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
rades. They are getting a little too old for war, I think.
[Laughter and cries of "No! "J They are all right,
though [applause] ; and I may say that during last sum-
mer and this year we were able to gather, through the
example of your patriotism and the inspiration of your
example, two hundred and fifty thousand of the best
young men of the United States. [Great applause.]
CXXVII.
Speech at Banquet of Meade, Lafayette, and
Kinsley Posts, G. A. R., Philadelphia, September
5, 1899.
Ify Friends :
I did not expect to make a speech to-night, and I only
rise that I may express my gratification at being one
of the guests of three great Grand Army posts of the
United States— Meade, Lafayette, and Kinsley. It has
given me genuine pleasure to greet so many of my old
comrades in this city of historic memories and patriotic
endeavors ; but I assure you that all of the goodness
and greatness of Philadelphia are not in the past.
As I passed through the Avenue of Fame to-day I
could not but reflect what a volume of history it portrays.
Histories of the war, the achievements of the army as
well as of the navy, were all made manifest by the
names of those who had been leaders in that great
struggle in both branches of the service. Our great
commander was there, Ulysses S. Grant [applause],
and Sherman and Sheridan and Meade [applause]
and Farragut. [Applause.] And not only, in that
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 225
gallery of heroes, did I find great captains and soldiers
of the army, but you went further and remembered the
men behind the guns. [Applause.]
We have told the story of the heroism and sacrifices
and the matchless achievements of the Grand Army of
the Republic, of which we are all proud. I thank you,
members of the three posts, for permitting me to stay
at your table to-night, but I do not wish to talk. The
Secretary of War is here ; the Secretary of Agriculture
is here ; the president of Cornell University, who is
president of the Philippine Commission, is here from
Manila; and here, also, is Admiral Sampson. [Ap-
plause.] And, gentlemen of the three great posts, you
have your choice. [Great applause.]
CXXVIII.
Remarks upon the Occasion of the Presentation of
A Sword to Adjoral Dewey, at the Capitol,
Washington, October 3, 1899.
Admiral Deivey :
From your entrance into the harbor of New York with
your gallant crew and valiant ship, the demonstrations
which everywhere have greeted you reveal the public
esteem of your heroic action and the fullness of the love
in which you are held by your countrymen.
The voice of the nation is lifted in praise and grati-
tude for the distinguished and memorable services you
have rendered the country, and aU the people give you
affectionate welcome home, in which I join with all my
heart. Your victory exalted American valor and ex-
15
226 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
tended American authority. There was no flaw in your
victory ; there will be no faltering in maintaining it.
[Tremendous applause.] It gives me extreme pleasure
and great honor, in behalf of all the people, to hand you
this sword, the gift of the nation, voted by the Congress
of the United States. [Prolonged applause.]
CXXIX.
Speech at Quincy, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
For this patriotic welcome I thank you. It has
given me uncommon pleasure to meet this morning, at
the Soldiers' Home, the men of 1861, the veterans who
stood in the trenches and behind the guns in tliat
year of great emergency, when the life of the nation
hung in the balance. [Applause.]
It has given me like pleasure, also, to meet with the
ex-soldiers of the Spanish War from the city of Quincy,
and the naval militia, representing the patriotism of
1898. [Applause.] And it is gratifying to me to learn
that you sent from this city one of the gallant young
officers who fought with Dewey in Manila Bay. [Great
applause.]
This is an era of patriotism, my countrymen. The
United States has never been lacking in gratitude
to its soldiers and sailors who have fought in its
cause; and the cause of the United States has never
lacked defenders in every crisis of its history. [Cheers.]
From the revolutionary days to the present hour,
the citizens of the United States have been ever
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 227
ready to uphold, at any cost, the flag and the honor of
the nation, and to take all the responsibility which
comes from a righteous war. [Great applause.] There
are responsibilities, born of duty, that can never be re-
pudiated. [Applause.] Duty unperformed is dishonor,
and dishonor brings shame, which is heavier for a nation
to carry than any burden which honor can impose.
[Great and prolonged applause.]
cxxx.
Rejnl^rks at Macomb, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It is a pleasure to me to look into your faces, to feel
the inspiration of your warm hearts, and to know
that you are interested in the prosperity and the honor
of the government of the United States. These great
assemblages of the people teach patriotism, and patriot-
ism is the mighty power that sustains the government
in peace and unites us all in war. [Great applause.] The
patriot loves his home, his family, his profession, his
farm, his books; but he has a greater love which in-
cludes all these— he loves his country. [Great applause.]
No finer exhibition of patriotism was ever shown than
a few days ago in the distant Philippines. [Applause.]
That gallant Tennessee regiment that had been absent
from home and family and friends for more than a year,
and was embarked on the good ship Sherman, homeward
bound— when the enemy attacked our forces remaining
near Cebu, these magnificent soldiers disembarked from
their ship and joined their comrades on the firing-line,
228 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
and achieved a glorious triumpli for American arms.
[Great applause.] That is an example of patriotism that
should be an inspiration to duty to all of us in every
part of our common country. [Prolonged applause.]
CXXXI.
Remarks at Bushnell, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I thank you for this welcome. I thank the children
of the schools for coming to give me greeting with the
flag of our country in their hands.
The last two years have registered not alone our
martial triumphs, but have recorded equal triumphs in
peace. We have not only overcome in the war with
Spain, but we have overcome the enemies of prosperity
and scattered their forces [great applause] 5 and to-day
the United States is enjoying an era of prosperity un-
precedented in our history. [Applause.] No man
rejoices more in that fact than I do, because it has
taken blessings to the homes and the firesides of seventy-
five millions of my countrymen. [Great applause.]
CXXXII.
Speech at Canton, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
The name you bear is very close to me. It suggests
to me the dearest name on earth — that of home; and
OF WILLIAM McKIXLEY. 229
the city of Canton, Ohio, salutes her namesake and
sister, the city of Canton, Illinois. [Great applause.]
I am glad to meet yon all. The past two years have
ji been eventful ones in our history. They have been
memorable because they have achieved victories for
civilization and humanity. [Applause.]
We have had three signal triumphs in that period.
First, we have had a war with a foreign power in the
interest and for the benefit of humanity. We have
triumphed in that war, and our glorious flag, the symbol
of liberty, floats to-day over two hemispheres. [Loud
and prolonged applause.] During that war we had
exhibitions of unprecedented patriotism on the part of
the people, and unmatched heroism on the part of the
soldiers and the sailors of the republic. [Cheers.]
Oui' second great triumph is the triumph of pros-
perity. [Great applause.] The busy mills, the active
industries, and the general prosperity have '' scattered
plenty o'er a smiling land."
And the third great triumph is the triumph we have
had over sectionalism. [Great applause.] We are no
longer a divided people; and he who would stir up
animosities between the North and the South is denied
a hearing in both sections. [Great applause.] The boys
of the South with the boys of the North fought trium-
phantly on land and sea in every engagement of the war.
So I conclude, in the moment I am to tarry with you,
by saying that this nation has been greatly blessed, and
that this hour we are a united, a prosperous, and a
]3atriotic people. [Great applause.] And may that divine
Providence who has guided us in all our undertakings
from the beginnmg of the government continue to us his
gracious and assuring favor. [Prolonged applause.]
230 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CXXXIII.
Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
Mr. President, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen :
With my fellow-citizens of Peoria County, tlie mem-
bers of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Ladies'
Memorial Association, I am glad to stand about this
monument, dedicated to patriotic service and heroic
devotion in as holy a cause as ever engaged mankind.
This monument awakens sacred memories; and that is
its purpose. It was erected by these patriotic women
that it might for all time perpetuate one of the most
glorious pages in American history. It teUs the whole
story of the war— the siege, the march, the bivouac, the
battle-hne, the sufferings, the sacrifices of the brave
men who from 'Gl to '65 upheld the flag. [Great ap-
plause.] It tells every page of the history of that civil
struggle, and of its triumphant consimimation at Ap-
pomattox Court-House, when Grant accepted the sur-
render of Lee, and we were kept a nation, united again
forever. [Great applause.]
I like this monument. [Applause,] I like this sym-
bol that I face to-day— the defense of the flag. [Cheers.]
That is what we do whenever and wherever that flag is
assailed. [Enthusiastic, prolonged applause.] And
with us war always stops when the assailants of our
flag consent to Grant's terms of unconditional sur-
render. [Great and continued aj)plause.]
My fellow-citizens, I do not intend to make a speech
here to-day. [Cries of '' Go on ! "] I could add nothing
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 231
of patriotic sentiment to that which has ah-eady been
uttered. But I desire to express in this presence my
appreciation, not of the tribute that was paid to the
President of the United States, but the tribute which
the people of Peoria city and Peoria County have paid
to the brave defenders of the American flag in time
of our greatest peril. [Prolonged applause.] You are
proud of the monument. You should be proud of the
demonstration to-day which preceded its unveiling— six
thousand children from the schools marching by with
the flag of the stars in their hands. [Applause.] I
could not but think, as I looked upon that inspiring
procession, that my country was safe. [Loud and pro-
longed applause.] God bless the schools of America !
[Continued applause.] God bless the patriotic women
of the United States [continued applause], and the pa-
triotic band that projected and carried this monument
to a successful conclusion ! [Continued applause.] And
I must not close without congratulating you that you
could find in Peoria— indeed, you have everything in
Peoria— an artist of such high skill, born in your own
city, to conceive and execute this noble monument.
[Applause.]
I thank you for this splendid demonstration of pa-
triotism. [Long-continued applause.]
232 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CXXXIV.
Eemarks upon the Presentation of an Album from
THE People op Peoria, Illinois, October 6, 1899.
My Friends :
I have no fitting words to respond to the gracious
compliment of this hour and to the welcome spoken by
your representative.
Our flag, wherever it floats, does not change in char-
acter. It is the same under a tropical sun as it is in our
own United States. It represents, wherever its stan-
dard is raised, liberty and advancement for the people ;
and in your allusions to the work of the Congress and
of this administration, I can only say for myself and for
those associated with me, we have had no aim but a public
aim, no purpose but a good one ; and upon our action,
in the language of Lincoln and in the words of his proc-
lamation, we " invoke the considerate judgment of man-
kind and the gracious favor of Almighty God."
I thank you for this gift, coming from the people of
Peoria as an expression of their feeling and good will.
cxxxv.
Address at Galesburg, Illinois, October 7, 1899.
Mr. Chairman and my Fell oiv- Citizens :
The time and place make this meeting memorable.
Forty-one years ago on this spot two mighty leaders,
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 233
representing opposing ideas, contended for mastery
before the tribunal of the people. It was a contest
which history will not fail to record ; and some are yet
li\dng to tell its interesting and thrilling story. It has
been recited around the family fireside until to the
people of Illinois it has become a household tale, inspir-
ing love of liberty and devotion to free institutions.
Here, therefore, are sacred memories which will be
cherished by this community for all time, and are per-
manently incorporated in the life of the nation.
Lincoln and Douglas are inseparably connected in the
public mind. Their association began in conflict and
ended in cooperation. They were in antagonism for
more than a generation over the interpretation of the
Constitution, and were united at last when the Consti-
tution itself was assailed. They might differ, as they
did, over the meaning of some of its provisions, but
when the crisis came they stood together for its inviola-
bility and for the inseparability of the Union it estab-
lished. The one asserted the right of slavery under
certain conditions to enter the Territories; the other
disputed that right under any conditions; but both
agreed that the slave power should not divide the
Union.
The debate was national and historical. It com-
manded profound attention. It interested aU sections.
It was watched with the deepest anxiety by the fol-
lowers of both. It was read and studied as no other
public discussion before or since. It presented the best
of the two conflicting schools of thought. It was epoch-
making, and marked an epoch in our history. It
touched the public conscience. It influenced public
thought and purpose. It made the issue impossible of
234 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
escape; it could be no longer avoided or evaded. It
united the friends of liberty as well as those of slavery.
It hastened the '' irrepressible conflict." It was not the
beginning of the agitation, but it carried it into the lives
and homes of the republic, and no issue is ever rightly
settled until it is settled there. It is no little source of
satisfaction that, upon the great question presented in
these debates, while Douglas carried the legislature,
Lincoln had a majority of the people.
The torch of liberty was not lighted here, but it
flamed forth with a broader, brighter, bolder light as it
was lifted up by the strong arm of Abraham Lincoln.
Three years— otily three years— intervened, and the
debate was removed from the arena of peaceful discus-
sion to that of war and carnage. And then Lincoln
and Douglas stood no longer divided. Sumter was fired
on April 12, 1861. On the 15th of that month Lincoln
issued his call for seventy-five thousand troops. The
position of Douglas at this critical juncture was that of
a patriot. Without halting or hesitation he alined
himself upon the side of the national government, and
threw the force of his great personality in support of
the Executive. Upon the occasion of his memorable
visit to Lincoln immediately after the first call for
volunteers, he dictated to the representative of the
Associated Press a despatch in these words :
April 18, 1861.
Senator Douglas called on the President and had an interesting
conversation on the present condition of the country. The sub-
stance of it was, on the part of Mr. Douglas, that while he was
unalterably opposed to the administration in all its political
issues, he was prepared to fully sustain the President in the ex-
ercise of all his constitutional functions to preserve the Union,
maintain the government, and defend the federal capital. A firm
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 235
policy and prompt action were necessary. The capital was in
danger, and must be defended at all hazards and at any expense of
men and money. He spoke of the present and future without any
reference to the past.
He no longer considered party. His sole concern
was for his country. He had no sympathy with our
enemies in the North, who openly or secretly counseled
the dissolution of the Union. He was for the flag and
for its cause, and the brave men who carried it had his
blessing and prayers. His patriotic course was a mighty
factor in molding Union sentiment and in uniting the
patriotism of the country, and should serve as an ex-
ample of good citizenship and an inspiration to duty.
Though Douglas espoused a cause doomed to de-
feat, yet his name will be cherished by patriots every-
where, because when the test came he was found sup-
porting the government and marshaling his followers
to uphold the constituted authorities. It is the cause
which hves, and it is the cause which makes the men
identified with it immortal in historv. Lincoln was the
leader of the triumphant cause. Douglas, though op-
posed to him for a lifetime, supported and strengthened
his arm. Both will be remembered longest, not for the
debate, but for their part in the mighty events which
ensued. They will live because the Union which was
saved and the liberty which was established will endure
to perpetuate their names.
To Lincoln, who in 1858 was struggling here against
the encroachment of slavery,— not for its destruction
where it existed, but against its further extension,— was
finally given by the people, under the providence of
God, the opportunity and the power to enthrone liberty
in every part of the republic.
236 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CXXXVI.
Speech at Kewanee, Illiniois, October 1, 1899.
FeJIoiv-Citizens :
I thank you for this patriotic demonstration. I ap-
preciate this expression, not as personal to myself, but
as your tribute of devotion to the government of the
United States, over which, by the partiality of your
suffrage, I am permitted to preside. [Great applause.]
I am glad to meet the working-men of this busy man-
ufacturing town, and to meet my fellow-citizens gen-
erally, and congratulate them upon the improved
conditions of business over 1896. [Enthusiastic ap-
plause.] I am glad to know that this year the place
hunts the man, and not the man the place. [Applause.]
Somebody has asked, ^'What are the signs of the
times?" Coming along on the railway I received a
letter from one of your great works here, and I thought
it gave the best answer that could be made. Here it is :
In 1896 from one to three hundred men were turned away from
our gates every morning and every night, who were looking for
work. [A voice, "That 's so, too."] Many of these people went
away with tears in their eyes. We gave work to large numbers of
people, for a few days at a time, simply to enable them to live.
During the last two years our bulletin-board has been constantly
covered with the notice of additional men wanted. [Great ap-
plause and cries of " True ! "]
In one of your factories in 1896, in the month of
September, you paid thirty-three thousand dollars to
labor ; in the same month of 1899 you paid one hundred
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 237
and three thousand dollars to labor. [Cheers.] I am
told that this railroad over which we are traveling
loaded, in the month of September of this year, seventy-
eight hundred cars— more than have ever been loaded in
a single month before in its history— with the products
of the farm, the mill, and the factories along its line
[great applause]— eighteen hundred more than were
loaded in the same period last year. So I feel that I
can congratulate you upon the prosperity that prevails
in this community and throughout the country. The
hum of industry has drowned the voice of calamity
[applause], and the voice of despair is no longer heard
in the United States, and the orators without occupation
here are now looking to the Philippines for comfort.
[Laughter and long-continued applause.] As we op-
posed them when they were standing against industrial
progress at home, we oppose them now as they are
standing against national duty in our island possessions
in the Pacific. [Loud and prolonged applause.]
CXXXVII.
Speech at La Salle, Illinois, October 7, 1899.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
It gives me very great pleasure to meet you here to-
day. I never journey through the East or the South or
the West that my pride in my country is not increased,
my love of it enhanced, and my confidence in its noble
mission and its permanence firmly reestablished in my
heart. [Great applause.] We are a nation of seventy-
fiive millions of people, all of them possessing equal
238 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
opportunity in the race of life, with public schools and
other schools open for the education of the boys and
girls freely and without price, with hope put in the
heart of the humblest boy in the land, and the right of
that humblest boy to aspire to the highest place in the
gift of this free republic, [Great applause.] And if you
needed any example of the glorious opportunities of
American citizenship, you have them here in your own
great State of Illinois. Lincoln, Douglas, Logan, Love-
joy, Oglesby, and a long list besides, coming from the
humblest walks of life, at last reached the highest sum-
mits of fame and favor in the republic.
And now to us— for this government rests upon the
people and all the people— is committed this great repub-
lic. Shall we maintain it in its integrity ? Let your boys
be educated in patriotism, and if so educated no harm
can befall the nation. [Long-continued applause.]
CXXXVIIL
Speech at Ottawa, Illinois, October 7, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citizens :
I very much appreciate the fact that at this busy
period so many of you have left your accustomed occu-
pations and assembled here to give me welcome and
cheer. I rejoice at your prosperity and at the pros-
perity which is everywhere observed throughout our
country, and I wish for you and all the people con-
tinued blessings under a government which we love and
believe is the best in the world. [Applause.]
At the city of Galesburg, which we have just left, we
celebrated the anniversary of the great debate between
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 239
Lincoln and Douglas. I am told that the first of the
series occurred in your city [a voice, '' In 1858 "] in 1858.
That, my fellow-citizens, was a memorable discitssion of
great political questions. That was the beginning of
the new era of our national life. It was a great blow
that was struck here and elsewhere at human slavery ;
and from that debate, entering the hearts and homes
and consciences of the people, finally came the civil
struggle that gave your great citizen the opportunity
to emancipate four millions of people. [Long-continued
applause.]
CXXXIX.
Speech at Joliet, Illinois, October 7, 1899.
2I1/ Fellow-Citizens :
Some one told me that the crowd would be veiy
small at Joliet because the workshops were too bus}^ to
close. What would this great audience have been if
all the workmen had been able to leave their employ-
ment? I am told that you are so busy that you run
two turns a day [a voice, "Some places three! "] and
some places three. I suppose that is on the principle
that one good turn deserves another. [Laughter and
applause.]
I am glad to know that every one of the fires of aU
the furnaces and factories and shops in the city of Joliet
has been lighted, and that employment waits upon labor
in every department of human industry here.
This nation is doing a vast business not only at home,
but abroad. For the first time in our history we
240 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
send more American manufactured products abroad,
made by American working-men, than we buy abroad,
[Applause.] The balance of trade is, therefore, in our
favor, and it is paid in gold. [Great applause.] In
1898 we sent six hundred million dollars' worth of
American products abroad in excess of what we bought
abroad, and five hundred and thirty million dollars' worth
in 1899 — all of which was paid to the American people,
and helped furnish pay to American labor. Ten years
ago we imported seven hundred and thirty-five million
pounds of tin-plate from the other side. Last year we
imported one hundred million pounds, and manufactured
at home nearly eight hundred million pounds of that
product. [Applause.] We not only practically supply our
own market, but we are beginning to export tin-plate.
In 1894 we sent abroad American locomotives valued at
one million dollars. In 1899 we sent abroad American
locomotives valued at four million seven hundred thou-
sand dollars. Our trade is not only growing at home,
but it is growing abroad.
All that I wish for my countrymen is that this pros-
perity may be continued — continued because it brings
happiness and contentment and joy to every household
of the land.
We not only send our goods abroad, but we have
sent our flag abroad. [Enthusiastic and long-continued
applause.] The flag now floats where it never floated
before, the symbol of freedom, the hope of humauitj^,
of liberty and civilization. And where that flag floats,
borne by our soldier boys, there our hearts are. [Loud
and prolonged cheering.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 241
CXLI.
Rejmarks ai the Children's Exercises, Auditorium,
Chicago, October 8, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I could not be induced to interrupt by speech the
singing of the American hymn, which is next on the
program. I can only express to you the very great
satisfaction it is to me to witness this magnificent
demonstration of patriotism and love of country and
of the flag. [Great applause.]
CXLII.
Remarks at Quinn Chapel, Chicago, October 8, 1899.
My Friends :
It gives me great pleasure to meet with you on this
memorial day. The noblest sentiment of the human
heart, after love of God, is love of country, and that in-
cludes love of home, the corner-stone of its strength and
safety. Your race has demonstrated its patriotism by
its sacrifices, its love of the flag by dying for it. That
is the greatest test of fidelity and loyalty. The nation
has appreciated the valor and patriotism of the black
men of the United States. They not only fought in
Cuba, but in the Philippines, and they are still carry-
ing the flag as the symbol of liberty and hope to an op-
pressed people.
16
242 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CXL.
Remarks at the Marquette Club Banquet,
Chicago, October 7, 1899.
Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Marquette Cluh :
I will not interrupt the orderly progress of the pro-
gram which has been laid before you, and to which I
must insist that your chairman shall adhere. I rise at
this moment only to express my warm appreciation of
the affectionate salutation of the Marquette Club, and
to say that I reciprocate it with all my heart. [Ap-
plause.]
We are not strangers. This scene to-night is not al-
together unfamiliar to me. I stood among you once
before, now more than three years ago, your honored
guest ; and I have for you all to-night the most grateful
regard and unstinted gratitude. You have not only
been my friends, faithful and unfaltering at all times,
but, what is of more moment, you have been at all times
faithful to your country, loyal to the inviolability of
public faith, standing always for honest government
and honest money [great applause], and forever stand-
ing for the honor and integrity of the flag wherever it
floats and wherever it is carried by our soldiers or our
sailors on land or on sea. [Long-continued applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 243
CXLIII.
Speech at the Citizens' Banquet, Chicago,
October 9, 1899.
Mr. Toastmaster and Gentlemen :
I am glad to join you in extending a sincere -welcome
to the distinguished statesmen and diplomatists who
represent the great countries adjoining us on the south
and the north. We are bound to them both by ties of
neighborhood. We rejoice in their prosperity, and we
wish them God-speed in the pathway of progress they
are so energetically and successfully pursuing. [Great
applause.]
You have assigned to me the toast '' The Nation "—
our nation, whose strength and safety rests, not in
armies nor in navies, but in the love and loyalty of the
people [great applause], which have never failed to re-
spond to every emergency and to be all-conquering in
every peril.
On the reverse side of the great seal of the United
States, authorized by Congress June 20, 1782, and
adopted as the seal of the United States of America
after its formation under the Federal Constitution, is
the pyramid, signifying strength and duration. The
eye over it and the motto allude to the many signal
interpositions of Providence in favor of the American
cause. The date underneath, 1776, is that of the
Declaration of Independence, and the words under it
signify the beginning of a new American era which
commences from that date.
244 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
It is impossible to trace our history since without
feeling that the Providence which was with us in the
beginning has continued to the nation his gracious
interposition. When, unhappily, we have been engaged
in war, he has given us the victory. Fortunate, indeed,
that it can be said we have had no clash of arms which
has ended in defeat, and no responsibility resulting from
war which has been tainted with dishonor. [Great
applause.] In peace we have been signally blessed, and
our progress has gone on unchecked and ever increas-
ing in the intervening years. In boundless wealth of
soil and mine and forest nature has favored us, while
all races of men of every nationality and climate have
contributed their good blood and brains to make the
nation what it is.
From a little less than four millions in 1790 our popu-
lation has grown to upward of sixty-two millions in 1890,
and our estimated population to-day, made by the gov-
ernors of the States, is 77,803,231. We have gone from
thirteen States to forty-five. We have annexed every
variety of territory [applause], from the coral reefs
and cocoanut groves of Key West to the icy regions
of northern Alaska — ten-itory skirting the Atlantic, the
Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, and the Arctic, and the
islands of the Pacific and Caribbean Sea, and we have
but recently still further extended our jurisdiction to
the far-away islands of the Philippines. [Great and
long-continued applause.]
Our territory is more than four times larger than it
was when the treaty of peace was signed in 1783. Our
industrial growth has been even more phenomenal than
that of population and territory. Our wealth, estimated
in 1790 at $402,000,000, has advanced to $65,000,000,000.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 245
Education has not been overlooked. The mental and
moral equipment of the youth, upon whom in the future
will rest the responsibilities of government, has had
the unceasing and generous care of the States and the
nation. We expended in 1897-98 in public education
open to all over $202,115,548, in secondary education
more than $23,474,683, and for higher education for
the same period, $30,307,902 5 and the number of pupils
attending our public schools in 1896-97 was 14,652,492,
or about twenty per cent, of our population. [Ap-
plause.] My countrymen, is this not a pillar of strength
to the republic ? [Applause.]
Our national credit, often tried, has ever been upheld.
It has no superior and no stain. The United States has
never repudiated a national obligation [great applause]
either to its creditors or to humanity. [Great applause.]
It will not now begin to do either. [Great applause.] It
never struck a blow except for civilization, and never
struck its colors. [Prolonged applause.]
Has the pyramid lost any of its strength? The
pyramid put on the reverse side of the great seal of
the United States by the fathers as signifying strength
and duration, has it lost any of its strength ? [Voices,
" No ! "] Has the republic lost any of its virility ? Has
the self-governing principle been weakened? Is there
any present menace to our stability and duration?
[Voices, " No ! "] These questions bring but one
answer. The republic is sturdier and stronger than
ever before. [Great applause.] Government by the
people has not been retarded, but advanced. [Applause.]
Freedom under the flag is more universal than when
the Union was formed. Our steps have been forward,
not backward. We have not stood still. ^' From Plyni-
246 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
outh Rock to the Philippines [great applause] the
grand triumphant march of human liberty has never
paused." [Great applause.]
Fraternity and union are deej^ly embedded in the
hearts of the American people. For half a century
before the Civil War disunion was the fear of men of
all sections. That word has gone out of the American
vocabulary. [Great applause.] It is spoken now only
as a historical memory. North, South, East, and West
were never so welded together, and while they may
differ about internal policies, they are all for the Union
and the maintenance of the integrity of the flag. [Great
applause.]
Has patriotism died out in the hearts of the people?
[Voices, "No!"] Witness the two hundred and fifty
thousand men springing to arms and in thirty days
organized into regiments for the Spanish War, and a
million more ready to respond [applause] ; and the more
recent enlistment of seventy thousand men, with many
other thousands anxious to enlist, but whose services
were not needed— not, my fellow-citizens, for the glory
of arms, but for the love of peace. [Applause.] Has
American heroism declined ? [Voices, '^ No ! "] The
shattered and sinking fleets of the Spanish navy at
Manila and Santiago, the charge of San Juan hill and
El Caney, and the intrepid valor and determination of
our gallant troops in more than fifty engagements in
Luzon, attest the fact that the American soldier and
sailor have lost none of the qualities which made our
earlier army and navy illustrious and invincible. [Great
applause.]
After one hundred and twenty-three years the pyramid
stands unshaken. It has had some severe shocks, but
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 247
it remains immovable. It has endured the storms
of war, only to be strengthened. It stands firmer and
gives greater promise of duration than when the fathers
made it the symbol of their faith. [Applause.]
May we not feel assured, may we not feel certain to-
night that, if we do our duty, the Providence which
favored the undertakings of the fathers, and every step
of our progress since, will continue his watchful care
and guidance over us, and that '' the hand that led us
to our present place will not relax Ms grasp till we
have reached the glorious goal be has fixed for us in
the achievement of his end ? " [Prolonged applause.]
CXLIV.
Speech at the Reunion op the Army of the
Tennessee, Chicago, October 10, 1899.
General Dodge, my Comrades :
It is not my intention to interrupt your business
meeting, and I have only called that I might pay my
respects and bring my personal good wishes to the
Army of the Tennessee. I have heard with gratitude
and satisfaction the warm words of your president in
pledging the support of the veterans of the Army of
the Tennessee to the flag and to the patriotic purposes
of the government of the United States. [Great ap-
plause.] I needed no such pledge from your president.
I could have known without his stating it where this
grand Army of the Tennessee would be when the flag
was assailed and wherever it was assailed, carried by
the soldiers and sailors of the United States. [Great
248 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
applause.] I could have known where this veteran
army would stand when I recalled for an instant its
history, with its Grant, its Sherman, its McPherson,
and its Logan. [Applause.]
As I have said, I have only come to bring to you the
homage which I feel for the veterans of 1861, who for
more than thirty-three years have taught patriotism to
the people of the United States. And when the hour
of our peril came last j'^ear, as a result of your instruc-
tion, more than a million men volunteered to defend the
flag. [Enthusiastic applause.]
I thank you for your cordial welcome, and bid you
all good morning.
CXLV.
Speech to the Chicago Bricklayers and Stone-
Masons' Union, Chicago, October 10, 1899.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen :
It gives me great pleasure to meet with the working-
men of the city of Chicago. Of the many receptions
that have been tendered me during my three days' stay
in your city, none has given me more pleasure or greater
satisfaction than the welcome accorded to me in this
hall and the kind words spoken in my behalf by your
president. [Cheers.] I have come, not to make an ad-
dress to you, but rather to give evidence, by my presence,
of the great interest I feel in the cause of labor, and to
congratulate you and your fellow- workmen everywhere
upon the improved condition of the country and upon
our general prosperity. [Applause.]
j "When labor is employed at fair wages, homes are
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 249
made happy. The labor of the United States is better
employed, better paid, and commands greater respect
than that of any other nation in the world. [Applause.]
What I would leave with you here to-night, in the mo-
ment I shall occupy, is the thought that you should i
improve all the advantages and opportunities of tliis^
free government. Your families, your boys and girls,
are very close to youi- heart-strings, and you ought to
avail yourselves of the opportunity offered your chil-
dren by the excellent schools of the city of Chicago.
Give your children the best education obtainable, and
that is the best equipment you can give any Ameri-
can. Integrity wins its way everywhere, and what I
do not want the working-men of this country to do is to
establish hostile camps and divide the people of the
United States into classes. I do not want any wall
built against the ambitions of your boy, nor any barrier
put in the way of his occupying the highest places in
the gift of the people. My fellow-citizens, I must stop.
I leave my best wishes and good will, with the prayer
that you may always have good employment, good
wages, and that in your homes you may have love and
contentment. [Great cheering.]
250 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CXLVI.
Speech at Banquet of the Comimercial Club,
Chicago, October 10, 1899.
Mr. President and Gentlemen :
I am honored to be the guest of this great club,
representing, as it does, the energy and activity and
enterprise of this inland city. I can testify to the
energy of your people. If I ever had any doubt about
the wisdom of eight hours being a fuU day's work, that
doubt has been removed. [Laughter.] I understand
there is already a new conflict between the federal
committee and the festival committee over the fact that
thirty minutes of my time in the last four days re-
mained unassigned. [Laughter.]
I congratulate you, gentlemen, upon the growth and
advancement of your city and the evidences of pros-
perity everywhere observed. Nothing impressed me
more, in the multitudes on the streets yesterday, than
the smiling, happy faces of the people. That was evi-
dence to me of your real and substantial prosperity. It
meant steady employment, good wages, happy homes,
and these are always indispensable to good government
and to the weKare of the people. [Applause.]
We have had a wonderful industrial development in
the last two years. Our workshops never were so busy,
our trade at home was never so large, and our foreign
trade exceeds that of any like period in all our history.
In the year 1899 we bought abroad upward of $697,000,-
000 worth of goods, and in the same year sold abroad
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 251
$1,227,000,000 worth, giving a balance of trade in our
favor of $530,000,000. This means more labor at home,
more money at home, more earnings at home. Our
products are carried on every sea and find a market in
all the ports of the world. In 1888 the Japanese govern-
ment took from us 8.86 per cent, of its total imports, and
in 1898 14.57 per cent. We are the greatest producers
of pig-iron, and raise three fourths of the cotton of the
world. Our manufactures of iron and steel exceed
those of any other country.
The growth of the railway systems of the United
States is phenomenal. From thirty miles in 1830 we
have gone to 184,590 miles in 1897. The system of
reciprocal agreements with foreign countries, provided
by the tariff act of 1897, promises beneficial results in
the increase of our export trade. Most of the conven-
tions already made await ratification before going into
effect, but the first reciprocal arrangement, under the
third section of the act, made with France, has now
been in operation over a year. It is intended espe-
cially to cover some important products of the West and
Northwest which are very largely handled by the mer-
chants of Chicago.
A comparison of these special exports of the United
States to France for the years 1898 and 1899 shows an
increase in one year of reciprocity of about 16 per cent,
in logs and lumber, an increase of over 240 per cent, in
export of bacon and hams, and an increase of 51 per
cent, in the export of lard and its compounds. We
have also, my fellow-citizens, made a parcels-post ar-
rangement with Germany— the first ever made between
the United States and any country in Europe. It went
into effect on October 1, and permits the interchange
252 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
througli the mails of all articles up to eleven pounds
in weight at the rate of twelve cents per pound. This
has been the result of fifteen years of effort to reach
such an agreement, but not until now has it been carried
through with success.
Our ship-building has been greatly increased. [Ap-
plause.] For the first time in all our history the ton-
nage of our steam- vessels on June 1 exceeded the tonnage
of all our sailing-vessels, barges, and all other craft. We
built in 1897 and 1898 more vessels of steel than of
all other materials combined. Our tonnage increased
during the latter year 100,000 tons, and is without a
parallel in our recent history. Larger ocean steam-
ships are under construction in the United States than
ever before. Our ship-building plants are being en-
larged and new establishments projected. There is no
better time than the present, therefore, with all these
favorable conditions and others which will suggest
themselves to you, for the development of a powerful
merchant marine. [Applause.] Our relations to other
nations by reason of our new possessions make this duty
even more commanding than it has ever been. [Ap-
plause.] American shipping under the American flag
should be found in all oceans, and our trade must go
wherever our flag goes.
Our internal commerce has even exceeded the growth
of our outward commerce. Our railroad transportation
lines never were so crowded, while our builders of cars
and engines are unable to fill the pressing orders made
necessary by the increased traffic. [Applause.]
We have everything, gentlemen, upon which to con-
gratulate ourselves as to the present condition of the
country. The only fear I have ever had, and I speak
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 253
to business men who are mucli more familiar with the
subject than I can be— the only fear I have ever had is
that we might overdo it, and that really we were not
exercising the conservatism so essential to substantial
business. You would doubtless disagree with me as to
this fear and say it was without foundation. I trust I
am mistaken, and I am told by business men every-
where that the business of the country now rests upon
a substantial basis, and that you are really only making
what there is a market for ; and as long as you do that,
of course, you are doing a safe business and our markets
are going to increase. [Applause.] Our products are
going into every port, and the reason for it is that we
make the best products and undersell everybody else
in the world.
I am glad to join in your welcome to the representa-
tive of Mexico and the representative of the Canadian
government. [Great applause.]
CXLVII.
Speech at the Fair Grounds, Evansville, Indlusta,
October 11, 1899.
My Fellotv-Citizens :
It gives me very great pleasure to participate with
you, men of the North and men of the South, in this
glad reunion. We are already unified. [Great applause.]
The peace which Grant and Lee made at Appomattox
has been kept [great applause], not by law or restraint,
but by love and fraternal regard [applause] ; and the
Union to-day rests, not in force, which might fail, but in
254 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
the hearts of the people, which cannot fail— a union that
can never be severed. [Applause.] If I have been per-
mitted in the slightest degree to help in the work of
reconciliation and unification, I shall hold it the greatest
honor of my life. [Great applause.]
When the call was made for troops to prosecute the
Spanish War, men from the North and the South, with-
out regard to creed, political or religious, or nationality,
rallied to the standard of the Union. [Applause.] The
best men of the South came— the sons of the old Con-
federate soldiers ; the best men of the North came — the
sons of the old soldiers of the republic. All joined
together in heart and hand to maintain the flag of their
country and follow wherever it might lead. [Great
applause.] We have been more than reconciled —
cemented in faith and affection ; and our reuniting
has been baptized in the best blood of both sections of
our beloved country, [Cheers.] If a gallant Northern
soldier— the lamented Miley— put the flag up at Santi-
ago, a Southern soldier — the gallant Brumby — put it
up over Manila. [Great applause.] And, my fellow-
citizens, it rests upon us to put the past beliind us, ex-
cept as a sacred and glorious memory, and to look to the
future.
This nation relies upon the patriotism of the people
of the North and South to stand by the highest ideal of
free government and pursue the path of duty and des-
tiny with unfaltering step and unfailing courage.
We come together, not as a third of a century ago,
with arms in our hands, but with love for each other
in our hearts, ready together to give the best we have
to the cause of country. [Long-continued applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 255
CXLVIII.
Eejl^ks from the Train at Evansville, Indiana,
October 11, 1899.
'■7
My Fellow- Citizens :
I appear only for a moment, in response to your re-
peated calls, that I may express to all of you my very
warm appreciation of the generous welcome which has
been accorded to me by the citizens of this thriving
city of Indiana. I am not only grateful for the re-
ception given by the citizens, but I am likewise grate-
ful for the reception given by the visitors representing
the North and the South [applause], now forever united.
[Great applause.]
The strength and safety of this great nation of ours
do not rest in armies or in navies, but in the love and
loyalty of its people. [Applause.] And so long as we
have the people behind that, so long as we have the
sentiment that goes out from the homes and the firesides
of the American people, so long will we have the best
citizenship and at last the best country. [Great ap
plause.]
CXLIX.
Speech at Vincennes, Indiana, October 11, 1899.
Ml/ Fellow-Citizens :
We ought to be a very happy people. We are a very
happy people. The blessings which have been showered
256 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
upon us have been almost boundless, and no nation in
the world has more to be thankful for than ours. We
have been blessed with good crops and fair prices.
Wages and employment have waited upon labor, and,
differing from what it was a few years ago, labor is
not waiting on the outside for wages. Our financial
condition was never better than now. We have good
money and plenty of it circulating as our medium of
exchange. National banks may fail, fluctuation in
prices come and go, but the money of the country re-
mains always good ; and when you have a dollar of it
you know that dollar is worth one hundred cents.
Not only have we prosperity, but we have patriotism ;
and what more do we want ? We are at peace with all
the nations of the world, and were never on better terms
and closer relations with each of them than we are to-
day. We have yet some trouble in the Philippines, but
the gallantry of the brave boys who have gone there
will, I trust, soon put down that rebellion against the
sovereignty of the United States. [Great and long-
continued applause.]
CL.
Speech at Terre Haute, Indiana, October 11, 1899.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
I have been very greatly pleased, as I have journeyed
through your State, with what I have seen and heard —
the evidences of good feeling and cheerfulness on the
part of the people, and of prosperity in your fields and
your workshops. It afforded me much satisfaction to
give greeting at the great reunion in the city of Evans-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 257
ville to the soldiers who fought against each other from
'61 to '65. There I saw the Blue and the Gray vying
with each other in expressions of love of country and
devotion to the flag. I saw, also, many of the young sol-
diers of the Spanish War furnished by the State of
Indiana, and I therefore saw not only the patriotism of
'61, but I saw the patriotism of '98.
It gave me pleasure also, as I approached your city,
to see the working-men from your great mills out in
line, in sight of the train, to extend me greeting and
welcome. And not the least of the pleasure of coming
to Terre Haute is to meet my old and valued friend,
the veteran patriot and statesman, the honored citizen
of your own city, Richard W. Thompson. [Prolonged
applause. ]
CLI.
Speech at Danville, Illinois, October 11, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
This was not on the program. I had no idea that we
were to stop at the city of Danville, and much less did I
think I would be greeted by such an audience of my feUow-
citizens. It gives me very great pleasure to meet you all,
to meet you at the home of my distinguished and long-
time friend. Representative Cannon. [Applause.] He
is the man to whom everybody must apply if he wants
an appropriation. [Laughter and applause.] We are
collecting just now a miUion dollars for every working-
day of the month from our internal revenue taxes, and
you do not seem to be very much oppressed here on that
account. [Laughter.] We are collecting about six
17
258 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
hundred and fifty thousand dollars every working-day of
every month from the tariff that we put on foreign prod-
ucts that come into the United States from other countries
[great applause], and that does not seem to give you any
serious trouble here. [Laughter.] That vast amount of
money received into the Treasury daily from internal
taxes and customs tariffs meets the ordinary expenses
of the government, and just now a part of it is used to
pay the soldiers and sailors who are engaged in the dis-
tant islands suppressing rebelHon against the sover-
eignty of the United States. [Great applause.] And
you can be assured that not a dollar of that will go out
except for honest purposes while your distinguished
representative presides over the Committee on Appro-
priations of the House of Representatives. [Long-con-
tinued applause.]
CLIL
Speech at Hoopestown, Illinois, October 11, 1899.
FeUotv-Citizens :
We have seen a great many people to-day ; we have
been greeted by many, many thousands of our fellow-
citizens; but none of the greetings has been more
hearty than that which you accord us here to-night.
From the appearance and cheerfulness of the people, it
has seemed to me that all things must be going well
with you ; that you have employment at fair wages ;
that you have good crops at fair prices ; and that your
great industry here, that of canning, is in every respect
most satisfactory and successful. I congratulate you
that you are using American tin, for that is now
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 259
one of the great enterprises of the country. [Great
applause.]
We are not a military people. We love peace. We
love the pursuits of peace. We are not a military
government, and never will become one ; it is against
the genius of our institutions and the spirit of the
people. The government of the United States rests
in the hearts and consciences of the people. It is their
government ; it represents them ; it is the agent of
their will; and while we are not a military govern-
ment or a military people, we never lack for soldiers
in any cause which the people espouse. [Great ap-
plause.] From the days of the Revolution down to
the present hour, in every instance of need or peril,
the citizens of, the United States have rallied, almost
as one man, to fight its battles and defend the honor
of the country. [Applause.] In our recent war with
Spain, the people, not only of your State, but of every
State of the Union, North and South, rushed forward
by hundreds of thousands to serve their country; and
they will not abate their patriotism till every rebellion
everywhere and by whomsoever conducted shall be
put down. [Great applause.] Is that what you want,
men of Illinois? [General cry of "Yes!"] That is
what is being done and what will be done. [Cries
of " Good ! "] Our people become soldiers of the re-
public to defend with their lives what thej^ love; but
the moment the emergency is over, that moment they
rush back to the peaceful walks of citizenship. There
never was a grander, more subhme scene in American
history than at the close of the Civil War. When
Appomattox came, with the peace which it brought, the
mighty army of two million six hundred thousand men
260 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
from every section of the North melted back into cit-
izenship, and ever since have been upholding as good
citizens the government they so faithfully served. [Great
and long-continued applause.]
CLIII.
Speech at Watseka, Illinois, October 11, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I feel like making more than a mere passing ac-
knowledgment of your kindly greeting. I recall that
in this community and county were some of my best
and earliest friends, and I will be pardoned if I say that
through aU the years since they have been firm and un-
faltering in their support and generous in upholding
my hands.
The demonstrations which we have witnessed to-day,
throughout your State and in the State of Indiana, in-
dicate the deep interest which the people feel in the
affairs of the government. It is your government. It
is what you make it. Its virtue and its vigor come
from you — come from the firesides of our country; and
your unceasing vigilance not only helps the public ser-
vant, but improves the public service. Unhappy wiU
be the day for our country when the people become
indifferent to its principles and its mission ; when they
lose their interest or relax their vigilance. Permit me
to say that those who serve you in subordinate places
in the government are among the most faithful that can
be found anywhere. The enormous sums of money that
are collected by the United States, the vast machinery
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 261
scattered from one end of the country to the other for
the collection and disbursement of these sums year in
and year out, show even a smaller percentage of loss or
waste than in the ordinary business occupations of life.
Providence has blessed us. We have opportunities that
come to no other peoples in the world. Let us keep
sacred this great government that dispenses its bless-
ings equally to all. [Great and prolonged applause.]
CLIV.
Rejiarks at Red Wing, Minnesota,
October 12, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
In the moment we shall remain with you, I desire only
to express my appreciation of your greeting.
I have come to your State to make public acknowledg-
ment of the patriotism of your people, and to give wel-
come to the gallant Thirteenth Minnesota, which for the
last twelve months has been upholding the sovereignty
of the United States and the glorious flag of our Union.
[Enthusiastic applause.]
As I have passed through the country I have been
glad to note that not only are the people filled with
patriotism, but that prosperity everywhere abounds,
and that our people are made happy by steady employ-
ment, good crops, and fair prices. [Great applause.]
262 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLV.
Address at Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 12, 1899.
Governor Lind, Mayor Gray, Members of the Thirteenth
Volunteer Regiment, and my Fellow-Citizens :
I have come from the capital of the nation that I
might give the nation's welcome to a regiment of
the nation's defenders. [Applause.] I have come to
voice the love and gratitude of every American heart
that loves the flag. [Applause.] I bid you welcome
because you did your duty; and that is the highest
tribute that can be paid to any soldier in the world.
[Great applause.] I do not think the members of
this regiment themselves, or the regiments constituting
the Eighth Army-Corps in the Philippines, realize the
importance and heroism of their action after the
treaty of peace was signed and ratified. And I
want to say to you men and to Colonel Summers —
General Summers now, because of his gallantry [ap-
plause]—that the officers and men of the Eighth
Army-Corps sent to Washington telling me they would
stay in the Philippines till I could create a new army and
send it there to take their place. [Great applause.] I
come to bid you welcome, and to give j'ou the honor of
the nation because you have sustained its flag [applause] ;
because you have refused to stack arms and to sound
a retreat. [Applause.] And you have come back having
a high j)lace in the hearts and affections of the American
people, and gratitude that will continue for all time.
[Applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 263
You have also, by your services, added much to the
cause of humanity, added much to the advancement of
ci\dlization, which has so characterized the century now
fading away.
This century has been most memorable in the world's
progress and history. The march of mankind in moral
and intellectual advancement has been onward and up-
ward. The growth of the world's material interests is
so vast that the figures would almost seem to be drawn
from the realm of imagination rather than from the
field of fact. All peoples have felt the elevating in-
fluences of the century. Humanity and home have been
lifted up. Nations have been drawn closer together in
feeling and interest and sentiment. Contact has removed
old prejudices at home and abroad, and brought about a
better understanding, which has destroyed enmity and
promoted amity. Civilization has achieved great vic-
tories, and to the gospel of good will there are now few
dissenters. The great powers, under the inspiration of
the Czar of Russia, have been sitting together in a par-
liament of peace, seeking to find a common basis for the
adjustment of controversies without war and waste.
Wliile they have not made war impossible, they have
made peace more probable, and have emphasized the
universal love of peace. They have made a gain for
the world's repose ; and Americans, while rejoicing in
what was accomplished, rejoice also for their partici-
pation in the great cause, yet to be advanced, we trust,
to more perfect fulfilment.
The century has blessed us as a nation. WhUe it has
not given us perfect peace, it has brought us constant
and ever-increasing blessings, and imposed upon us no
humiliation or dishonor. [Applause.]
264 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
We have had wars with foreign powers, and the un-
happy one at home; but all terminated in no loss of
prestige or honor or territory, but a gain in all. [Great
applause.]
The increase of our territory has added vastly to our
strength and prosperity without changing our repub-
lican character. [Applause.] It has given wider scope
to democratic principles and enlarged the area for re-
publican institutions. [Applause.]
I sometimes think we do not realize what we have,
and the solemn trust we have committed to our keep-
ing. The study of geography and history has now
more than a passing interest to the American people.
It is worth recalling that when the Federal Union was
formed we held 909,050 square miles of territory, and
in less than one hundred years we have grown to
3,845,694 square miles. [Great applause.]
The first acquisition, in 1803, known as the Louisi-
ana Purchase, embraced 883,072 square miles, ex-
clusive of the area west of the Rocky Mountains. Its
vastness and value will be best understood when I say
that it comprises the entire States of Arkansas, Mis-
souri, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and
parts of the States of Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado,
Montana, Wyoming, Louisiana, all of the Indian Terri-
tory, and part of Oklahoma Territory. It would seem
almost incredible to the present generation that this
rich addition to the federal domain should have been
opposed ; and yet it was resisted in every form and by
every kind of assault. The ceded territory was char-
acterized as a " malarial swamp," its prairies destitute
of trees or vegetation. It was commonly charged that
we had been cheated by giving fifteen million dollars
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 265
for a territory so worthless aud pestilentiax that it could
never be inhabited or put to use [laughter and applause] ;
and it was also gravely asserted that the purchase would
lead to complications and wars with European powers.
In the debate in the Senate over the treaty a senator
from Connecticut said :
The vast and unmanageable extent which the accession of
Louisiana will give the United States, the consequent dispersion
of our population, and the destruction of that balance which it is
so important to maintain between the Eastern and Western States,
threaten, at no very distant day, the subversion of our Union.
[Laughter. ]
A senator from Delaware said :
But as to Louisiana, —this new, immense, unbounded world, —if
it should ever be incorporated into the Union, of which I have no
idea, and which can only be done by amending the Constitution, I
believe it will be the greatest curse that could at present befall us.
It may be productive of innumerable evils, and especially of one
that I fear to ever look upon. . . . Thus oui* citizens will be re-
moved to the immense distance of two or three thousand miles
from the capital of the Union, where they will scarcely ever feel
the rays of the general government ; their affections will become
alienated ; they will gradually begin to view us as strangers ; they
will form other commercial connections, and our interests will
become distinct. . . . And I do say that under existing circum-
stances, even supposing that this extent of territory was a desir-
able acquisition, fifteen millions of dollars was a most enormous
sum to give.
A distinguished representative from Virginia said he
feared the eifect of the vast extent of our empire ; he
feared the elfects of the increased value of labor, the
decrease in the value of lauds, and the influence of cli-
mate upon our citizens who should migrate thither. He
did fear (thougb this land was represented as flowing
with milk and honey) that this Eden of the New "World
266 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
would prove a cemetery for the bodies of our citizens who
emigrated to it. [Laughter.]
Imperialism, as it was termed, had a chief place in the
catalogue of disasters which would follow the ratification
of the Louisiana treaty, and it was alleged that this was
the first and sure step to the creation of an empire and the
subversion of the Constitution. The expression '' plane-
tary policy," which is now employed by some critics, so
far as I have been able to discover, first appeared here.
Jefferson was made the subject of satirical verse :
See Mm commence, land speculator.
And buy up the realm of nature,
Towns, cities, Indians, Spaniards, prairies. . . .
The opponents, however, were in the minority, and
the star of the republic did not set [great applause],
and the mighty West was brought under the flag of
justice, freedom, and opportunity. [Continued applause.]
In 1819 we added 69,749 square miles, which now
comprise Florida and parts of Alabama, Mississippi,
and Louisiana.
In 1845 we received the cession of Texas. It con-
tained 376,931 square miles, and embraced the State of
Texas and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyo-
ming, and New Mexico.
The next cession was under the treaty of 1848, con-
taining 522,568 square miles, embracing the States of
California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and
Wyoming, and of the Territories of Arizona and New
Mexico.
In 1853 we acquired by the Gadsden Purchase 45,535
square miles, which embrace parts of Arizona and New
Mexico.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 267
The next great acquisition was that of Alaska in 1867,
containing 599,446 square miles. This treaty, like that
for the Louisiana Purchase, was fiercely resisted. When
the House had under consideration the bill appropriat-
ing the sum of $7,200,000, the amount of purchase-money
for Alaska agreed upon by the treaty, the minority re-
port on that bill quoted approvingly an article which
characterized Alaska as a " terra incognita,^^ and stated
'' that persons well informed as to Alaska are ungrateful
enough to hint that we could have bought a much
superior elephant in Siam or Bombay for one hundredth
part of the money, with not a ten thousandth part of
the expense incurred in keeping the animal in proper
condition." [Laughter.]
The minority report proceeded to say that
The committee, having considered the various questions involved
and the evidence in regard to this country under consideration, is
forced to the conclusion that the possession of the conn tri/ is of no
value to the government of the United States. That it wiU be a
source of weakness instead of power, and a constant annual ex-
pense for which there will be no adequate return. That it has no
capacity as an agricultural country. That so far as known it has no
value as a mineral country. . . . Tliat its fur trade is of insignifi-
cant value to us as a nation, and will speedily come to an end.
That the fisheries are of doubtful value, and that whatever the
value of its fisheries, its fur trade, its timber, or its minerals, they
were all open to the citizens of the United States under existing
treaties. That the right to govern a nation or nations of savages,
in a climate unfit for the habitation of civilized men, was not
worthy of purchase. . . . They therefore report the following
resolution : Resolved, That it is inexpedient to appropriate money
for the pm-ehase of Russian America.
In the debate in the House a distinguished represen-
tative from Massachusetts said :
268 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
If we are to pay for Russia's frieudship this amount, I desire to
give her the $7,200,000 and let her keep Alaska. I have no doubt
that at any time within the last twenty years we could have had
Alaska for the asking, provided we would have taken it as a gift ;
but no man, except one insane enough to buy the earthquakes of
St. Thomas and the ice-fields of Greenland, could be found to agi'ee
to any other terms for its acquisition to this country.
To tliis treaty the opponents were in the minority;
and that great, rich territory, from which we have drawn
many and many times over its purchase price, and with
phenomenal wealth yet undeveloped, is ours in spite of
their opposition. [Great applause.]
In the last year we have added to the territory be-
longing to the United States the Hawaiian Islands, one
of the gems of the Pacific Ocean, containing 6740 square
miles; Porto Rico, containing 3600 square miles;
Guam, containing 175 square miles ; and the Philippine
archipelago, embracing approximately 143,000 square
miles. [Great applause.] This latest acquisition is
about one sixth the size of the original thirteen States.
It is larger than the combined area of New Jersey,
Delaware, Maryland, Vii'ginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, and the District of Columbia. It exceeds in
area all of the New England States. It is almost as
large as Washington and Oregon combined, and
greater than Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois united; three
times larger than New York, and three and one half
times larger than the State of Ohio.
The treaty of peace with Spain, which gave us the
Philippines, Porto Rico, and Guam, met with some op-
position in the Senate, but was ratified by that body by
more than a two thirds vote ; while in the House the
appropriation of twenty million dollars was made with
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 269
little or no opposition. [Great applause.] As in the
case of the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska, the oppo-
nents of the treaty were in the minority, and the star
of hope to an oppressed people was not extinguished.
[Continued applause.]
The future of these new possessions is in the keeping
of Congress, and Congress is the servant of the people.
That they will be retained under the benign sovereignty
of the United States I do not permit myself to doubt.
[Enthusiastic applause.] That they will prove a rich and
invaluable heritage I feel assured. That Congress will
provide for them a government which will bring them
blessings, which will promote their material interests as
well as advance theu' people in the path of civihzation and
intelligence, I confidently believe. They will not be gov-
erned as vassals or serfs or slaves ; thej^ will be given a
government of liberty, regulated by law [great applause],
honestly administered, without oppressing exactions,
taxation without tjTanny, justice without bribe, educa-
tion without distinction of social condition, freedom of
rehgious worship, and protection in " life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness." [Great and long-continued ap-
plause.]
CLVI.
Speech at the Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota,
October 12, 1899.
My FeJlow-Citisens :
I have been more than gratified to meet the people
of the State of Minnesota, and it gives me special and
peculiar pleasure to meet with my friends and fellow-
270 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
citizens of the great city of St. Paul. The demonstra-
tion of patriotism that has been seen on every hand as
I have traveled through the East and the West into
your State is most inspiring, and I never look into the
faces of a great American audience that I do not feel
that the free institutions of the United States are for-
ever safe in their hands. [Great applause.]
The patriotism of the American people takes the place
of a large standing army. We do not need such an
army in the United States. We can have an army on
any notice if the nation is in peril or its standard is
threatened. [Applause.] Eager is every American citi-
zen to answer the call to arms, and just as eager to come
back to the paths of peace when the emergency is past.
[Great applause.]
I was glad to welcome back to the State of Minnesota
the Thirteenth Volunteer Infantry. [Great applause.]
I was glad they did not want to come home until the
government of the United States was ready to dispense
with their services. [Continued applause.] I was glad
that, no matter who advised otherwise, they did not pro-
pose to beat a retreat [great applause] ; and there is not
a man, woman, or child in the State of Minnesota to-day
who is not proud that they stayed there until their
places were filled by other troops. [Great applause.]
The American soldier never runs away from duty [ap-
plause], even when his time is up. [Great applause.]
The other day, when that gallant Tennessee regiment
that had been in the Philippines for more than a year
had embarked upon the good ship Sherman to come home,
and our forces at Cebu were attacked, they got off at
once and went and shed their blood with the other sol-
diers to maintain American honor. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 271
So I say we do not need large standing armies, for we
have in the hearts of the American people a purpose to
do and die, if need be, in the service of the republic.
[Great applause.]
I am glad you have prosperity here. [Applause.]
You all look like it. [Applause.] You act like it, and I
hope it has come to stay. [Great applause.]
CLVII.
Speech at Superior, Wisconsin, October 13, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citisens :
It is plain to see that the people of Superior and
vicinity love their country. The demonstration of the
morning would indicate to the most casual observer
that these people, men, women, and children, are loyal
to the flag and faithful in upholding its honor wherever
it has been raised. [Great applause.]
To come again to Superior gives me special plea-
sure. I remember years ago to have been a guest of
your city. I remember the warmth of my greeting
then, but this far surpasses anything that has gone be-
fore ; and no reception, great as it has been, in our long
journey has been more beautiful or impressive than the
one you have given us here to-day. [Enthusiastic ap-
plause.]
I have been glad to note your progress and your pros-
perity ; the difference between your condition when I
was last here and your condition now. The country is
altogether too busy with active industry and thriving
commerce to listen any longer to the prophet of evil.
272 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
[Applause.] We are engaged now in looking after our-
selves and in taking care of ourselves ; and we liave
discovered that the best statesmanship for America is
that which looks to the highest interests of American
labor and the highest development of American re-
sources. [Great applause.]
The people of this country are not only prosperous,
but they are patriotic. No State in the Union was more
prompt to answer the call of country than yours. The
whole Union, North and South, quickly responded to
the call to arms, and when peace came were as quick
to enter the paths of peace. [Applause.]
I thank you most heartily. I thank the school-girls
and the school-boys. I thank you all for this demon-
stration, not for me, but for the country and the flag.
[Long-continued and enthusiastic applause.]
CLVIII.
Speech at Duluth, Minnesota October 13, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citizens :
Mj^ welcome to Duluth has been unique and most
gracious— greeted at the station by the people of your
city and vicinity, escorted by my comrades of the Civil
War on the right and the left, led by the young soldiers
of the Spanish War, and then the final crowning con-
summation of it all, the welcome of the school-children
of the city of Duluth around and about the beau-
tiful temple of learning, open to all, rich and poor
alike. [Great applause.]
All that we have seen about us this morning typifies
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 273
and illustrates the government of the United States. It
rests in the hearts and consciences of the people. It is
defended, whenever it is assailed, by its citizen soldiery ;
and it furnishes education free to all the young, that
they may take upon themselves the great trust of
carrying forward, without abatement of vigor, this
fabric of government. [Enthusiastic applause.] No
picture more beautiful was ever presented to human
vision, than the one we see before us to-day. [Con-
tinued applause.] The schools of our country lie at
the very foundation of our institutions. They are
the very citadel of our power. They constitute the
corner-stone of our safety and security. Ever}^ boy
and every girl in the United States can have an educa-
tion without money and without price. They can
have an education that equips them for every duty
of life ; and I want to tell you, young people, while you
have an opportunity di-aw deeply from this fountain of
learning, for when you get older there is less time for
the pursuit of knowledge in our busy, rushing Kfe. Fill
your minds with useful knowledge ; and I see you are
filling your hearts brimful of patriotism as you hold
the flag of your country in youi- hands. [Enthusiastic
applause.]
Side by side with education must be character. Do
not forget that. There is nothing in this world that
lasts so long or wears so well as good character ; and it
is something everybody can have. It is just as easy to
get into the habit of doing good as it is to get into the
habit of doing evil. With education and integrity every
avenue of honor, every door of usefulness, every path-
way of fame and favor are open to all of you.
I thank you more than I can find words to express
18
274 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
for this \Yiirm, generous, heartfelt welcome— not to me,
not to the Chief Executive of the nation, hut to the nation
itseK as embodying your love, your faith and purpose.
{Enthusiastic and prolonged applause.]
CLIX.
Remarks at Aitkin, Minnesota, October 13, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I esteem it a very great honor to meet the people of
the country whom by their suffrages I am permitted to
serve. I count it of very great value to the public
servant to meet with the people; for the people have
but one public aim, and that is high and noble. What
you all want, no matter what may be your party aline-
ments— what you aU want for your country is the great-
est good for the greatest number. I never meet the
people face to face without gaining from them inspira-
tion for duty. Your cheerf id faces, kind greetings, and
generous words give me encouragement for the great
responsibihties which you, two years and a half ago,
placed upon me. I assure you that I have but one aim,
and that is to serve you faithfully, and help to main-
tain the honor and integrity of the government, which
dispenses the blessings of our free institutions equally
to all the people. [Great applause.]
OP WILLIAM Mckinley. 275
CLX.
Speech at Brainerd, Minnesota, October 13, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
To this welcome from my fellow-citizens of Minnesota
I cannot fittingly respond.
Our government emanates from the people, whether
it be the government of the nation, the State, the
connty, the township, or the village. All power comes
from the people, and all public officers must bear their
commissions as administrators of their affairs. Back of
the governments to which I have referred is the home,
which is the ideal government after all, — the family,
bound together by ties of common interest and affection,
— the American home, the school-house for the educa-
tion of American boys and girls in the duties of citizen-
ship. And from this home, which lies at the foundation
of our public institutions, the governments draw tlieir
virtue and integrity. The education that comes from
the home touches all our lives and stays with us as long
as we live. There is not a man anywhere in our country
who, remembering the affectionate counsels of his
mother, has not been helped in resisting wrong and
adhering to right. [Great applause.] It is that Ameri-
can home, where love is found and virtue presides, that
is the hope of our republic.
And after that are the schools of the country. They
educate men for citizenship and for statesmanship ; and
this country is safe so long as we preserve the honor
and integrity of the home and continue public education
276 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
in nation and in State. It is from these homes and
schools that the brave bovs went out from Minnesota in
the Civil War [applause], and again in the Spanish War,
responding with an alacrity unprecedented to the call
of country to fight its battles and uphold its honor.
One of the greatest pleasures of my life, my country-
men, was yesterday to welcome in the city of Minne-
apolis the Thirteenth Minnesota, that had been for many
months in the Philippines carrying the standard of the
Union, which they left there, without stain, in other
hands. [Great applause.]
Wherever the flag goes, there go education and ci\d-
lization. [Enthusiastic applause.]
CLXI.
Remarks at Staples, Minnesota, October 13, 1899.
Mij Fellow-Citizens :
It has given me very great pleasure, in traveling through
your State, to be welcomed, as I have been at every
hand, by the warm hearts of your people, and to ob-
serve your progress and prosperity, ^ou became a
part of the Federal Union as a State in 1858, forty-one
years ago. You have not only added to the wealth and
progress and prosperity of the nation in peace, but you
have contributed your share to bring honor and glory
to the nation in war. You furnished your full quota
in 1861, when you were but three years old as a State ;
and when the Spanish War came, this State furnished
more than its quota, sending to the front fifty-five hun-
dred of the best young men from your homes and
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 277
communities. Wherever they were, whether in the
field during the Civil War, or in Luzon, they always
upheld the flag. The Thirteenth Minnesota has come
back to you, bringing added laurels to the State.
The flag of our country that floats over the Philippines
floats in honor for liberty and humanity and for the
American name. [Great applause.]
CLXII.
Speech at Wadena, Minnesota, October 13, 1899,
2X1/ FeUoH'-Citizens :
The people of this country, differing from many
countries in the world, are masterful in administration
and legislation. They change policies and adminis-
trations. They make and unmake Presidents and
Congresses and legislatures; and nothing is ever per-
manently settled, so far as the governmental policy is
concerned, until it is settled in the consciences of the
people and by their enlightened judgment.
Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of saying that the safest
tribunal on earth was the people; and at one of the
most critical periods of our Civil War he uttered these
great words : " If the Almighty Ruler of nations, with
his eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the
North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that
justice will surely prevail by the judgment of this great
tribunal of the American people." And so all poli-
cies and all purposes of President or Congress must
finally be submitted to the people, and their judgment,
when constitutionally rendered, is the law of the land.
278 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
It is therefore a great power that the people possess, and
that power is used after the most careful investigation
and consideration of great public questions, and has ever
been for the right.
We are in the Philippines. Our flag is there, and our
flag is never raised anywhere for oppression. [Great
applause.] It floats for liberty wherever it is raised.
[Great applause.] And wherever it is assaulted in the
hands of the men who wear the uniform of the United
States, that moment the whole nation rises to its defense.
[Enthusiastic and long-continued applause.]
CLXIII.
Reimarks at Detroit City, Minnesota,
October 13, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
Of the many receptions we have had, as we have
journeyed through your State and other States, none
has been more hearty or more cheering or assuring
than the welcome you give us here to-night. All these
receptions have been public ones,— the people them-
selves, the old, the young, the boys and the girls of the
schools,— and I assure you that they have cheered my
heart and given me strength for the great responsibil-
ities resting upon me. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 279
CLXIV.
Speech at Fargo, North Dakota, October 13, 1899.
Mr. Mai/or, Senator Hansbrough, Memlers of the First
North BaJcota Volunteers, and my FeUow-Citizens :
The last eighteen mouths have borne impressive tes-
timony of the patriotism of the American people. The
call for two hundred thousand troops was promptly
responded to by the people of the United States, without
respect to party, creed, section, or nationality. [Great
applause. Cries of " Good ! "] The alacrity of enlist-
ment and the celerity of execution have few if any paral-
lels in the military annals of the world. [Applause.]
We did not go to war until every effort at peace was
exhausted, and when war came we all thought the sooner
it was ended the better for all concerned. [Applause.]
I have come here to-night, traveling a long distance,
that I might meet the people of this new and growing
State— a State which I had the honor, as a member of the
national House of Representatives, to vote to admit as a
sister into the national family. [Great applause. A
voice, "You 're not ashamed of it, are you?"] On the
contrary, I am proud of it [applause], and prouder than
ever for the vote I gave for her admission. [Applause.]
I come also to speak of the patriotism of the State
of North Dakota; not only of the patriotism of the
men who served in the Philippines, but of those brave
soldiers of your State who, less fortunate than the
Manila volunteers, were not able to have fighting
service in the field. They did their duty, as you did
280 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
yours ; and so, too, all the volunteers throughout the
United States, all of them eager to go to the front and
do battle with the enemy, like you who met the enemy,
have won the lasting gratitude of the American people.
[Great applause.] I have come especially that I might
look into the faces of the North Dakota volunteers [con-
tinued applause]— the two battalions who saw service
on the battle-line in Luzon. I came that I might speak
to them the welcome and the ''Well done." You did
your duty and you filled my heart with joy [applause]
when you, with the other volunteers and regulars of
the Eighth Corps, sent me word as President that you
would remain at the battle-front in Luzon until a new
armj^ could be created to take your place. [Enthusiastic
and prolonged applause.] You refused to beat retreat
or strike your colors in the presence of the enemy [great
applause], no matter who advised you to come home.
You said, " We will stay and keep the flag stainless in
the presence of the enemy." [Great applause.] And,
my fellow-citizens, no soldier ever had a more delicate
or trying duty. This army, of which this fragment
from your State formed a part, remained in Luzon,
waiting, first for the treaty of peace which was being
negotiated in Paris, then for its ratification by the
Senate of the United States, then until the exchange
of ratifications between the United States and Spain—
waiting through all that long period, accepting the in-
solence of the insurgents with a patient dignity which
characterized the American soldiers, who were under the
orders of the Executive that they must not strike a blow,
pending the treaty of peace, except in defense. [Great
applause.] I say they bore these taunts with a patience
sublime. We never dreamed that the little body of in-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 28 1
surgents whom we had just emancipated from oppres-
sion— we never for a moment believed that they would
turn upon the flag that had sheltered them against Spain.
[Great applause.] So our soldiers patiently bore,
through the long months, the insults of that band of
misguided men under the orders of an ambitious
leader. Then the insurgent chief ordered an attack
upon our line, and our boys made gallant defense.
[Enthusiastic applause.] But I want to do them the
credit to say, here in the presence of their neighbors
and theii- friends, their fathers and their mothers, that
they forbore aU things rather than disobey an order
from the government they were serving. [Cries of
" Good ! " and great applause.]
The leader of the insurgent forces says to the Ameri-
can government, "You can have peace if you will give
us independence." Peace for independence, he says.
He had another price than that for peace once before
[laughter], but the United States pays no gold for peace.
[Enthusiastic applause.] We never gave a bribe in all
our history, and we will not now commence to do it.
[Great applause.] Our flag is there. [Applause.] Sol-
diers of North Dakota, you left it there in the hands of
those who took your places, without blot and with honor.
[Applause.] Wherever that standard is raised, whether
in the western or in the eastern hemisphere, it stands
for liberty, civilization, and humanity. [Long-continued
applause.]
But I have already talked too long. [General cry of
" Go on ! "] This nation for nearly a century has not
compromised liberty [a voice, "No, sir; and never
will ! "] ; and Abraham Lincoln [applause] spoke in 1863
the proclamation of liberty to aU men beneath our flag
282 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
in the United States [applause] ; and at Appomattox
Court-House Grant made that paperproclamation a living
fact. [Applause.] Oui* flag stands for liberty wherever
it floats ; and we propose to put sixty-five thousand
men behind that flag in Luzon [applause], to maintain
the authority of the United States and uphold the sov-
ereignty of the republic in the interest of civilization
and humanity. [Applause,] We accept the resj)onsi-
bility of duty at whatever cost it imposes. [Long-con-
tinued applause.]
CLXV.
Speech at Wahpeton, North Dakota,
October 13, 1899.
My Felhw-Gitizens :
I have had great pleasure in passing through your
State to-day— the first visit which I have ever made to
this new commonwealth. It is one of the newest of the
Federal Union. I have been impressed with the pa-
triotism of your people, and also with the prosperity and
the good feeling which we found on every hand. Ad-
mitted as a State only ten years ago, you have made
almost marvelous progress in population and develop-
ment. Your population, I am sure, has doubled in the
last ten years, while the products of your fields in a
single year have mounted as high as thu'ty millions of
dollars. These vast products have gone from your rich
fields, and in turn there have come back thirty millions of
dollars in gold, to enrich the producer and pay the wages
of labor. I am glad to note that the voice of despair
is no longer heard in North Dakota, and the prophet of
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 283
evil no longer commands confidence, because lie has been
proved to be a false prophet. Your mortgages are
diminishing and your markets are increasing. The
hum of industry gladdens the heart, and the hammer of
the sheriff at public sales is less frequently heard in the
home. We are a great country, and you are one of the
great States of this great Union.
It was my pleasure to-day to welcome back to your
State, in behalf of the nation, the gallant boys of the
First Dakota, who did such splendid service in Luzon.
[Great applause.] Your city furnished one of the com-
panies. They have made not only a splendid record for
themselves, but they have added a new and glorious
page to American history, and great honor to American
arms. I doubt if there is a man, woman, or child in
the State of North Dakota who is not proud of that
regiment, and prouder still that they remained on the
firing-line when there were many people who wanted
them to come home. [Enthusiastic applause.] If there
is anything in this world we like it is courage and
heroism ; and if there is anything that an American
boy will never do, it is to desert his colors when his
country is in peril. [Great applause.] The truth about it
is, the soldiers of the Spanish War are, for the most part,
the sons of the veterans of the Civil War, and the pa-
triotism, pluck, vim, and vigor shown by your boys in
Luzon were only what we found in that Grand Army of
the Republic from 1861 to 1865. [Applause.]
I thank you, my fellow-citizens, for this greeting. It
has been especially gratifying to me to meet the neigh-
bors and friends and fellow-citizens of your United
States Senator [Senator McCumber] at his home.
[Long-continued applause.]
284 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLXVI.
Speech at Aberdeen, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
3fr. Mayor, Memhers of the First South Dakota Volunteers^
and my FeUow-Citisens :
It gives me very great pleasure to join with your
fellow-citizens of the State of South Dakota, your
friends, your families and neighbors, in this welcome
to your home. We are not a nation of hero-worshipers,
and yet we are a nation of seventy-five millions of grate-
ful people who love valor and reward the heroic deeds
of our soldiers and sailors on land and sea.
I think I appreciate quite as much as, if not more than,
most of my fellow-citizens the value of the services this
regiment, with its associates of the Eighth Corps, ren-
dered the country in its hour of great emergency. [En-
thusiastic applause.] And I am here to speak, not for
myself alone, but for the American people, in expression
of gratitude and thanks for your heroic action in the
island of Luzon. [Applause.] This morning a despatch
from your commander, the major-general commanding
in the Philippines, through the Secretary of War, tells
me of the gallantry of Colonel Frost and his First
Regiment [great applause], tells me that from early in
February until late in June they stood on the firing-
line, and no enemy could withstand their resistless
courage and gallantry [continued applause]. Nor do
I forget, soldiers of the republic, soldiers of the First
South Dakota, that when the treaty of peace was rati-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 285
fied and the exchange of ratifications was completed
with Spain, every one of you was entitled to be mustered
out of the service of the United States. [Applause.]
And I can never express to you the cheer you gave my
heart when you sent word that you would remain until
a new army could be formed to take your places. [En-
thusiastic and long-continued applause.] The members
of the First South Dakota and their comrades furnished
an example of personal sacrifice and public consecration
rarely known in the annals of history. [Applause.]
But it is just like the American soldier, no matter where
he comes from. He never lays down his arms in the
presence of an enemy [great applause], and never falters,
never lowers the flag of his country, nor leaves the field
till victory comes [continued enthusiastic applause].
I am glad to see the veterans of 1861 welcome the
veterans of 1898. [Applause.] It is the same kind of
patriotism. You got it from your fathers ; and it is a
patriotism that never deserts and never encourages
desertion. [Applause.]
But, my fellow-citizens and members of the First
South Dakota, you have just got home, and I know you
want to join those you love, and I shall not detain you
a moment longer, except to say to you that I tliank you
for your uncomplaining services to our beloved country ;
I thank you for standing faithful and unfaltering on
the battle-line; I thank you for preserving the flag
stainless ; I thank you for waiting in the trenches
until the relief came ; and I thank you for having
transferred the banner of freedom to those who succeed
you, spotless and with honor. [Great applause.] And
where that flag is, it stands for libertj^, humanity, and
civilization. [Long-continued applause.]
286 SPEECHES AND ADDKESSES
CLXVII.
Speech at Redpield, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
In all that relates to the government of the United
States we have a common interest and a common pride.
We are all deeply interested in the administration of
the government, that it shall be honest and just and
equal. We are interested in the progress and prosperity
of the country and the well-being and advancement of
the people. We have been greatly blessed as a govern-
ment and a people. We are rich in all material things.
Your own State is blessed with soil and mines of rare
value. Your population is increasing, and in a single
year you sent out your products valued at nearly one
hundred millions of dollars. Your population is about
four hundred thousand. You raise more than you con-
sume. You send your surplus products from the field
of production to the field of consumption, and there
comes flowing back to you in return money for your
labor and your investment.
We are also interested in our public schools, in our
colleges, and in our universities. This pioneer State
has a great many colleges and universities. You have,
I am told, a college here. The school-house goes with
the pioneer. The family, then the school-house; and
out of the school-house come those who finally become
the citizens who are to carry forward this great work
of government.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 287
Then we are interested in the honor of the country.
The American name up to this hour has never had any
taint put upon it, and I trust and beheve it never will
have. [Great applause.] We have never lacked soldiers
to defend any cause in which the country has been en-
gaged, from the days of 1776 down to the present hour.
[Great applause.]
We have been adding some territory to the United
States. The little folks will have to get a new geog-
raphy. [Laughter and applause.] We have a good
deal more territory in the United States than when we
were boys, and we have acquired some within the last
eighteen months. [Great applause.] We have not only
been adding territory to the United States, but we have
been adding character and prestige to the American
name. [Continued applause.] We have planted our
flag in Porto Rico, in Hawaii, and in the Philippines.
We planted it there because we had a right to do so. ^ ^^
[Applause.] We had a war with Spain. Every effort
for peace was used before war was finally declared by the
Congress of the United States, but when war was de-
clared there was but one thing for the American people
to do, and that was to destroy the Spanish sea-power
wherever we could find it [great applause] ; and so
Dewey was sent to Manila [continued applause], and
we told him to go there, commence operations, find the
Spanish fleet, and capture or destroy it. [Great ap-
plause.] He did it ! [Applause.] He found and he
destroyed it, and when he had done that we had
the responsibility of the Philippines, which we could
not evade. And there has never been a moment of
time, my countrymen, when we could have left Manila
Bay or Manila harbor or the archipelago of the Philip
288 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
pines without dishonor to our name. [Great applause.]
We did not go there to conquer the Philippines,
We went there to destroy the Spanish fleet, that we
might end the war 5 but in the providence of God,
who works in mysterious ways, this great archipelago
was put into our lap, and the American people never
shirk duty. And the flag now there is not the flag of
tyranny— it is the flag of liberty [applause] ; and wher-
ever the flag goes there go character, education, American
intelligence, American civilization, and American liberty.
[Great applause.]
CLXVIII.
Speech at Huron, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
3fy Fellow-Citizens :
I bring my heartfelt salutation to this one of the
younger sisters of our Federal Union. I may be par-
doned if I express more than a common interest in your
welfare and advancement. It was my good fortune to
be a member of the national House of Representatives
during all the years you were struggling for admission
as a State ; and it was my very great privilege in 1889
to give my vote to helj) make you one of the stars in
our national constellation. [Great applause.] I can
testify to the perseverance of this people to get into the
Union. I not only bring salutations, but congratulations.
You have made wonderful progress. You have been
enjoying in the last twenty-four months an unexampled
prosperity. Good crops and fair prices have lifted the
mortgage and lowered the interest ; and while the in-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 289
terest has been lowered to the borrower, the standard of
the money loaned has not been lowered. [Great ap-
plause.] You not only have rich material resources,
but you have what every American pioneer population
has— school-houses and chm-ches. They go with the
pioneer wherever he goes, and the pioneer, made of the
very best possible fiber, always takes the flag with him.
[Great applause. A voice, " Keep the old flag where it
is ! "]
My fellow-citizens, I came here to make acknowledg-
ment to the people of this State for their patriotism.
When you were a Territory you furnished battalions of
gallant soldiers to fight in the great war for the preser-
vation of the Union [applause], and my comrades of
the Grand Ai-my of the Republic are all about me here
to-day. [Shout of " And we will stand by you ! "] And
when the Spanish War came, the sons of these veterans
and the sons of these settlers sprang to arms at once
upon the call of country-, and one regiment of your
troops served most gallantly and uncomplainingly in
the island of Luzon. [Great applause.] I had the
extreme pleasure of joining in South Dakota's welcome
to these brave men at Aberdeen this morning, and I
want to tell you that they look like athletes [a voice,
" We sent them out as such ! "], and they came back as
such, showing the generous care of the government of
the United States. [Great applause.] It is given to
the strong to bear the bm-dens of the weak; and our
prayer should be, not that the burdens should be rolled
away, but that God should give us strength to bear
them. [Applause.] And the burdens which this war
placed upon the American people unsought and unex-
pected—for nobody in the United States dreamed eigh-
19
290 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
teen months ago that the Philippine archipelago would
become territory of the United States— came not to us of
our seeking, but as one of the inevitable and unescapable
results of that war. When Dewey went into Manila
Bay under orders and destroyed the Spanish fleet, from
that hour we were responsible for the peace of the Phil-
ippine Islands [enthusiastic and long-continued applause],
and from that hour we could not escape with honor to our-
selves, nor could we escape from our obligations to the
nations of the world. [Applause.] And your boys stayed
[applause], although there were some people who wanted
them to come home. [Laughter and applause.] I am
proud of them, and so are you. [General cry of " We
are ! "] There is not a man, woman, or child in this
glorious new State, there is not a family in your com-
monwealth, who is not delighted that the soldiers of
the First South Dakota refused to accept the advice of
the unpatriotic and stayed and upheld the flag. [Great
applause.] They did not come home until they had
placed that flag stainless and spotless in the hands of
the new army we sent; and we will send enough of
them to carry that flag to ultimate victory. [Great and
long-continued applause.]
OLXIX.
Speech at Lake Preston, South
Dakota, October 14, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
Patriotism is an all-conquering sentiment in the
American heart. It triumphs over mere politics,
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 291
and the politics which has no patriotism in it is
always defeated before the tribunal of the American
people. If the patriot, for any good reason, does not
go to war himself, he always supports the soldier who
does, and shelters and cares for his family while the
head of it is at the front. [Applause.] If, for any
reason, a good citizen gets into the ranks of the enemy
by an accident, he hves only to regret it, and his chil-
dren live only to erase the blot from the family name.
[Applause.]
The patriotic people of this country are awaiting the
return of Company E of the First South Dakota.
[Great applause.] I saw the glorious boys myself
to-day. [Continued applause.] I was proud of them,
and you will be proud of them when they come to you
to-night. [Great applause.] They did splendid service
for their country. They unfalteringly sustained the
flag and refused to come home [great applause]— re-
fused to lay down their arms until the government they
were serving could supply a new army in their places
to lift up and carry forward that sacred banner. [En-
thusiastic and long-continued applause.]
CLXX.
Speech at Madison, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
3fy Fellow- Citizens :
I liave great pleasure in meeting the citizens of south-
eastern Dakota, and I feel constrained to congratulate
you upon the evidences of prosperity which I have wit-
292 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
nessed as I have traveled through your State. I feel,
too, like congratulating you upon the general prosper-
ous condition of the country. Your government is
doing well. There are no deficits in the Treasur3\
There is a good round balance of more than two hun-
dred and fifty millions of gold in the Treasury belong-
ing to the government ; and we are collecting one
million six hundred thousand dollars every working-
day of every month. Last year, when Congress voted
that we should go to war, we borrowed two hundred
millions of dollars. We offered the bonds to the
people, and there were fourteen hundred million dollars
subscribed when there were only two hundred millions
needed. [G-reat applause.] Not only, my fellow-citi-
zens, is the business of the government prosperous, but
the enterprises of the people are also prosperous. Fear
has given place to confidence. Consternation and
despair have given place to faith and courage, the
voice of calamity is no longer heard in the land, and
the orator of distress and discontent is out of a job.
[Great applause.]
The people are employed and happy. They are proud
of their institutions and of the love for country displayed
in the last eighteen months. When the call for two hun-
dred thousand troops was issued, more than a million
and a half of men offered themselves, eager and read}'"
to go to fight the battle for humanity and maintain the
public honor. [Great applause.] And some of your
boys are coming back here to-night. [Enthusiastic
applause.] I feel like apologizing to the fathers and
mothers for the privilege which I enjoyed of seeing them
first. The proudest, the most cherished, the most glori-
ous reflection they have is that they did not come
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 293
home until their places had been supplied with new-
troops. [Long-continued applause.]
CLXXI.
Speech at Egan, South Dakota, October 14, 1899.
Ml/ Fellow-Citisens :
We, as a people, never go to war because we love
war. Our chief glory is not in the triumphs of arms,
but in the triumphs of peace. We love peace; we
abhor war. We have the smallest standing army of
any large nation in the world. With a population of
more than seventy-five millions, the regular army of the
United States, on a peace footing, consists of twenty-
eight thousand troops. On the national shield, which
these boys and girls know all about, are to be found the
olive-branch and the arrows, indicating our power in war
and our love of peace ; but be it said, to the glory of the
American nation, that we never have drawn the arrows
from their quiver until we have tendered to our ad-
versary the olive-branch of peace. [Great applause.]
And we are at peace now with all the nations of the
world. We have an insurrection in the Philippines,
which, I trust, will be very promptly suppressed. [Great
applause.]
Your boys have done their duty in suppressing it
[great applause], and I know you are impatient to bid
them welcome to theu- families and then* homes. [Long-
continued applause.]
294 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLXXII.
Speech at Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citizens :
We very deeply regret that we were not able to reach
this city at the time appointed. The reason of our de-
tention is the fact that the First South Dakota Vol-
unteers came in late at Aberdeen. It is the only time
in the history of that regiment that it was ever late.
[Great applause.] It was never behind time in any of the
more than thirty engagements which it had in the island
of Luzon.
My fellow-citizens, when war is inaugurated it usually
has a fixed and definite purpose. You can have a pur-
pose at the beginning, but nobody can tell the end or
scope. " Man proposes, but God disposes." The Civil
War was waged for the purpose of saving the Union.
There was no thought on the part of Mr. Lincoln or
his Cabinet or of Congress what would be accomplished
in its final result. Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of
saying that he would save the Union with slavery or
he would save it without slavery, he would save it half
slave and half free, only so that he could save it, for he
had an oath registered in heaven to preserve the Union.
[Great applause.] He could not save it with slavery,
and so he issued his immortal proclamation of liberty.
That was not the purpose of Congress, for the Congress
of 18G1 had voted by an almost unanimous vote that the
war should cease when the Union was restored, with all
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 295
the rights, dignities, and privileges of the old States
undisturbed.
So, my fellow-citizens, when the war with Spain com-
menced,— commenced in the interest of humanity, com-
menced to relieve the Cuban people of that oppression
under which they had suffered for long years, — nobody
at that moment had any thought either of Porto Rico or
the Philippines. We went to war with Spain in the
interest of humanity and civilization, and to give justice
to the oppressed people of Cuba. When war was de-
clared we put our ships in front of the harbors of Ha-
vana and Santiago. We sent Dewey's ships from Hong-
kong to Manila, directing him to destroy or capture the
Spauish fleet in those waters, and he did it. [Enthusi-
astic applause.] And our fleet in front of Santiago sunk
the Spanish ships in that water. And when Dewey de-
stroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay he was master
of the situation ; but he could not come awav without
dishonor, if he had been disposed to do so, which he
was not. [Great applause.] The responsibility for
peace and good order and the protection of life and
property came to the American people from that
hour. When the treaty of peace, by which Spain ceded
to us the entire archipelago was ratified by more than
two thu-ds of the Senate of the United States, from that
hour it became the territory of the United States. [Great
applause.] And when it became our territory there was
but one authority and but one sovereignty that could be
recognized, and that was the United States. [Great ap-
plause.] It became our duty to establish our authority.
A portion of one tribe, representing the smallest frac-
tion of the entire population of the islands, resisted
American authority. The very men we had emauci-
296 SPEECHES AND ADDKESSES
pated from slavery and oppression were the first to
make an attack upon the arm}^ of the United States ;
and when they assaulted our flag in the hands of the
soldiers of the United States, they assaulted the sover-
eignty and the power of the government. [Great ap-
plause.] And when that is assailed there is never any
division among the American peojile. [Enthusiastic
applause.] They are for the flag wherever it floats,
and they stand behind the men who carry it on land or
on sea. [Continued applause.]
I received the other day a letter from a most distin-
guished officer now engaged in active duty in the Philip-
pines. It is dated Manila, August 29, 1899, and I want
to read one or two extracts from it :
I am confident that, if we should withdraw our army now,
Aguinaldo could not hold himself in power without carrying on
warfare against other tribes, and this would cause a constant war-
fare and turmoil for years. Of course there would be looting of
cities and seizing and destruction of property, and the business
people and property-holders would apply to some strong govern-
ment to restore order. For us to withdraw our army now would
be criminal, and for such an action we would be arraigned and de-
nounced by the civilized nations of the earth.
I believe that when it is fully understood that our supremacy is
to be maintained in these islands, there will be an influx of popula-
tion from the United States and other countries. There is no
question as to the richness of the soil and the abundance and
richness of gold-, copper-, and coal-mines.
It is true that heretofore tliey have not paid, but it is because
they have not been properly managed.
The receipts of this port from customs [it is the port of Manila]
are averaging $600,000 per month. This, with the internal rev-
enue, I believe, would in ordinary times pay the entire expenses
of the government.
An idea seems to be prevalent in the United States that this is
an unhealthy country, and that white men cannot live here. This
OF WILLL4M McKINLEY. 297
is a great mistake. There is also an impression that to retain these
islands would be a burden to our country. That these views are
errors should be impressed upon the American people.
You may ask, my feilow-citizeus, who is the author of
this letter. I answer you that it is from a gallant sol-
dier, a great cavalry leader of the Confederate army, one
of the heroes of Santiago in our recent war, and for
eighteen years a member of Congress from the State of
Alabama— the gallant and intrepid Joe Wheeler. [En-
thusiastic applause.]
We intend to put do^vn that rebellion [great ap-
plause], just as we would put down any rebellion
anywhere against the sovereignty of the United States
[continued applause]. Our flag is there. Your boys
bore it, bore it heroicall37^, bore it nobly, and stayed with
it when they could have been mustered out ; but they
said, '^ We will stay until our places can be filled with
new soldiers, and will never desert our colors." [Great
applause.]
I make public acknowledgment everywhere for this
personal sacrifice and heroic action. That flag is there,
not as the symbol of oppression, not as the flag of
tyranny ; but it is there, as it is everywhere, the symbol
of liberty, civilization, hope, and humanity. [Tremen-
dous and long-continued applause.]
298 ■ SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLXXIII.
Speech at Yankton, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
I have very great pleasure in meeting my countrymen
of South Dakota here at the old capital of the Territory
of Dakota. A wave of patriotism has been moving
throughout the country for the past two years, and the
swell has struck South Dakota to-day. [Applause.]
The soldiers from Manila are coming home. They are
in your beloved State to-night. I met them this morn-
ing at Aberdeen. They are coming back in health, as
sturdy and splendid a body of 3^oung men as I ever
looked upon. They are coming back not only with
health, but with honor. They stood by the country we
all love so much, and have earned the gratitude of the
government they have served so well. [Great applause.]
We cannot have too much patriotism in a country like
ours, that rests upon the people and all the people alike ;
and so long as we have with patriotism the virtue and
vigilance of the citizen, so long will our free institutions
be safe and secure. The American people can always
be trusted. If in the passion of the hour they commit
a mistake, they are prompt to correct it. The people
choose the rulers— their legislatures of States and the
Congress of the United States and the Chief Executive
of the United States; and if, in an hour of unrest or
discontent or dissatisfaction, they elect rulers or legis-
lators or congressmen who do not serve the best pur-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 299
pose of government, they are prompt to supersede them
with agents who do. [Great applause.]
The people, my fellow-citizens, always reserve to them-
selves the right of appeal from themselves after more
deliberate judgment, after more conscientious investi-
gation ; they appeal from themselves to themselves, and
not infrequently reverse former decisions.
I am glad to meet the people of this new and prom-
ising State. Every step of our journey, as we have
passed through this commonwealth, has been one of
warm and hearty and generous greeting from all the
people [great applause] ; not from party, not from
members of one creed or another, not from the native-
born or the naturalized, but from all I have felt the
touch of warm hearts and the glow of gracious greet-
ings; and I stop only long enough to say how pro-
foundly impressed I have been with your State— not
with its material interests alone, not with its lands or
its mines, but with the men and the women. I have
looked into their faces, and have felt that there was a
great future for this commonwealth in such hands, and
for the whole nation. You are just like the other
members of our great family, for you have come from
all the States ; and those who have come from outside
have brought their best conscience and best judgment
to help us build up this country.
One thing more, m}^ countrymen. Whatever else
this war has done, there is a result for which we should
all offer thanksgiving and praise— it has unified every
section. [Great applause.] We now, almost for the
first time in our history, know no North, no South, no
East, no West, but are all for a common country.
[Long-continued applause.]
300 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
CLXXIV.
Eemarks at Vermilion, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
TMs is a very loyal and devoted people, that would
remain up until this late hour of the night to give greet-
ing to the Chief Executive of the nation. I do not
misinterpret this welcome. I am sure it is not meant
for me as an individual, but meant as your expression
of devotion and affection for the government of the
United States. I can only, in the moment, detain you
long enough to say that we have a government that is
worthy of our best love and affection, and if it does not
continue to serve us and our highest and best interests,
it will be our own fault, for our government is just
what we make it. And I pray that the virtue of the
citizen will be so high and his aims so noble that nothing
ill can ever befall this republic, and nothing ever impair
its usefulness and glory. [Great applause.]
CLXXV.
Remarks at Elk Point, South Dakota,
October 14, 1899.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
Only a warm-hearted people, deeply interested in
their government and attached to it, would have re-
mained standing until midnight to give welcome to
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 301
the President of the United States. I leave the State
of South Dakota regretfully, for during all the day of
my journey I have been met at every point with the
same warm greeting which you have given me here
to-night. I leave behind me only thanks and gratitude
to all the people, and my best wishes for their prosper-
ity in their vocations and for contentment and joy in
all their homes. [Great applause.]
CLXXVI.
Remarks at the Whitfield Methodist Episcopal
Sunday-School, Sioux City, Iowa, October 15, 1899.
My Friends :
I have only, in the moment I shall tarry, to say to
this group of young people and older people, hail and
farewell. I wish for all of them the realization of all
that is noble in life and character under a government
of high privilege and great opportunity.
CLXXVII.
Speech at Iowa Falls, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It is a great advantage to meet the people early in
the morning. [Laughter.] It gives me genuine pleasure
to meet and greet ray fellow-citizens of Iowa, to look into
their faces, and to feel the stimulus of their presence,
and the encouragement which I always receive as I
mingle with them.
302 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Since I was last in the State we have added some new
territory. It is no longer a question of expansion with us ;
we have expanded. [Laughter and great applause.] If
there is any question at all it is a question of contrac-
tion ; and who is going to contract ? [Applause.] I
believe, my fellow-citizens, that this territory came to
us in the providence of God. We did not seek it.
[Applause.] It is ours, with all the responsibilities
that belong to it ; and as a great, strong, brave nation
we mean to meet these responsibilities [applause], and we
mean to carrv our education and our civilization there.
I am not one of those who would take a laurel from the
brow of the American soldier or a jewel from the crown
of American achievement. [Great applause.]
CLXXVIII.
Speech at Ackley, Iowa, October IC, 1899.
My Felloiv- Citizens :
1 recall my former visit to this people, I believe, five
years ago. I congratulate you all upon the improved
condition of the country. When I was here last, we
were in a condition of business depression. Times were
hard. Fear had overcome courage. Now all is changed.
We have general prosperity— good crops and fair prices,
steady employment and good wages, and we have a
happy and contented people.
Not only are tlie people prosperous, but the nation
itself is doing well. Our revenues are abundant. All
over the country interest has fallen, mortgages have
been lifted, and markets have been extended. We are
using more of our own products than we ever did before.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 303
We are importing fewer products than we have done in
many years, and we are sending more of American
products abroad than we ever sent before. We are on
agold basis, and we mean to stay there. [General cry
of "Go'odP] "■ ^
I like the sentiment that spans your platform here :
"Sustain the nation's flag." [Applause.] That is what
we are doing in the Philippines to-day, and that is what
we will continue to do until we conquer the rebellion
against the sovereignty and authority of the United
States. [Great applause.] We mean to sustain the
boys in blue who are carrying that flag ; and whether in
the Philippines or here in Iowa, it represents, not
tyranny, but liberty and civilization, and stands for
hope to mankind. [Cheers.]
CLXXIX.
Speech at Parkersburg, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It is a peculiar pleasure to me to pass through the
district of my old friend Colonel Henderson, and it is
a great honor that comes to this district that your rep-
resentative is to be the Speaker of the national House
of Representatives.
The patriotism of the people for the last eighteen
months has been sublime. When the call for troops
was made, Iowa, like all the other States of the Union,
responded promptly." More than a miUion soldiers
were ready to do battle for the country under its caU
for only two hundred thousand troops. Iowa furnished
304 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
her full share, and one of her regiments did gallant
service in the distant islands of the Pacific. It did not
ask to come home, although it had the privilege of
muster out after the ratifications of the treaty of peace
had been exchanged. That regiment remained there,
to uphold the flag and sustain the authority of the
government, until a new army could be created to go
and take its place; and I desire to make public ac-
knowledgment here in this presence and in this State
for its exhibition of devotion to the flag and loyalty
to the country. [Great applause.] We all love that flag.
It gladdens the hearts of the old and the young, and
it shelters us all. Wherever it is raised on land or on
sea, at home or in our distant possessions, it always
stands for liberty, for civilization, for humanity ; and
wherever it is assaulted, the whole nation rises up to
defend it. [Long-continued applause.]
CLXXX.
Speech at Cedar Falls, Iowa, October 1G, 1899.
My Felloiv-Citizens :
This is a very great pleasure, to meet the people of
Cedar Falls and the professors and students of your
great institution of learning.
We are a united people— united in interest, sentiment,
purpose, and love of country as we have never been be-
fore. Sectionalism has disappeared. Old prejudices
are but a faded memory. The orator of hate, like the
orator of despair, has no hearing in any section of oirr
country. On ship and on shore the men of the South
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 305
and the men of the North have been fighting for the
same flag and shedding their blood together for the
honor of the country and the integrity of its institu-
tions. Lawton and AVlieeler in the Philippines are
fighting side by side to-day. [Applause.] This is the
Union we have now, and tlie North and the South are
vying with each other in loyalty, and are marching side
by side in the pathway of our destiny and the mission
of liberty and humanity.
The cause of humanity has been triumphant, and that
cause committed to our hands will not suffer. Wher-
ever we have raised our flag, we have raised it, not for
conquest, not for territorial aggrandizement, not for
national gain, but for civihzation and humanity. [Great
applause.] And let those lower it who will ! [Enthusi-
astic and long-continued applause.]
CLXXXI.
Speech at Waterloo, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
My FeUow-Citkens :
We have before us a great national problem. We
have resting upon us a great national duty, growing
out of our war with Spain. When that war com-
menced there was little or no division of sentiment
among the people. Before the declaration of war
the Congress of the United States, under the leader-
ship of youi- distinguished Senator Allison, voted a na-
tional defense fund of fifty millions of dollars for the
use of the government at its discretion. It was voted
practically without division in either house of Congress.
20
306 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
The senator assures me that it was done with absohite
unanimity. When the war was declared the resolution
was voted for by all parties from all sections. The
revenue bill was passed with provisions for money to
carry on the war ; so that we started with all the peo-
ple and all the representatives of the people standing
together.
The war came, and was ended sooner than any
similar war in all history ; ended with the triumph of
American arms ; ended in a triumph for the cause of
humanity. [Applause.] Having been united in bringing
on the war, having been united in its conduct, having
been practically united in the conclusions of peace, the
question is, Shall we stand together until the work is
finished ? [General cry of " Yes ! " Great applause.]
We have resting upon us the great responsibilities of
government in Porto Rico and in the Philippines. Our
flag has been assailed in those distant islands in the Pa-
cific, and I ask the people of Iowa whether we shall not
stand firmly and unitedly until American sovereignty
shall be established in every island of the archipelago.
[General cry of " Yes ! " Applause.] We will not take
down that flag, representing liberty to the people, repre-
senting civilization to those islands ; we will not with-
draw it, because the territory over which it floats is ours
by every tenet of international law and by the sacred
sanction of a treaty made in accordance with the Con-
stitution of the United States. [Applause.] We are not
there to oppress. We are there to liberate. We are not
there to establish an imperial government ; but we are
there to establish a government of liberty under law,
protection to life and property, and opportunity to all
who dwell there. [Applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. sot
CLXXXII.
Speech at Independence, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
2Iy Felloiv-Citizens :
I thank your spokesman for his greeting in your
behalf. Nothing but a deep interest in the country
upon the part of the people would have assembled so
many of you, on this inclement morning, to give welcome
to the President of the country. And I do not mistake
its meaning. It is not meant in compliment to me. It
is in no sense personal, but it is expressive of your
devotion to the country, your interest in its welfare,
your anxiety that its honor shall be preserved every-
where upon land and sea. The people are thinking
about just one thing now in this country. The thoughts
of the citizens of the United States have not for a third
of a century been so centered upon the government and
its future— tlieii- government— as at this very hour. They
rallied to its support when it went to war. They stood
by the government until the treaty of peace was made.
That treaty of peace, ratified by the Senate of the United
States, approved of by a vote of Congress, gave to the
United States the sovereignty and territory of the Philip-
pine Islands. [Great applause.] That territory, my fellow-
citizens, the President has no power to alienate if he
was disposed to do so, which he is not. [Great applause.]
The sovereignty of the United States in the Philippines
cannot be given away by a President. That sovereignty
belongs to the people ; and so long as that territory is ours,
and so long as our sovereignty is there by right,— not
308 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
by right of conquest only, but by right of solemn treaty,
—the President of the United States has but one duty
to perform, and that is to maintain and establish the
authority of the United States in those islands. [Great
applavise. Cries of '^ Good ! "] He could not do less
and perform his duty. And our prayers are not only
going out to the boys in the trenches, but more men and
more means and more sinews of war will follow the boys
at the front. [Great applause.]
And now, my fellow-citizens, having said this much,
and only stopping long enough to thank the boys and
the girls of the schools for the welcome which they have
given me, carrying that glorious banner in their hands,
which indicates that they have real affection for the flag
in their hearts, I bid you all good morning. [Long-
continued applause.]
CLXXXIII.
Speech at Manchester, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citizens :
We have had more than a hundred years of national
existence. Those years have been blessed ones for
liberty and civilization. No other jjeoples anywhere on
the globe have enjoyed such marvelous prosperity and
have made such gigantic progress as the people of the
United States. When the fathers established this gov-
ernment the population was only a little more than a
million in excess of the population of Iowa to-day. They
started with three million nine hundred thousand, and
you have two million and a half of people in your State.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 309
Our lines have indeed fallen in pleasant places. The
ship of state has sailed uninterruptedly on its mission of
liberty ; and one thing that can be said of this nation,
for which we should all give thanksgiving and praise, is
that it never raised its arm against humanity, never
struck a blow against liberty, never struck a blow except
for civilization and mankind. [Applause.] And now that
we are seventy-five millions of people I do not think we
have lost our vigor, our virtue, our courage, our high
purpose, or our patriotism. [Great applause.] We are
just as strong for country as we ever were, and we are
just as sensitive of national honor as our fathers were,
and we are just as determined to keep unsullied the
American name as those who created us a nation.
[Great applause.]
This, my countrymen, is not a partizan government.
While parties control administrations, in the presence of
a great national peril or great national duty the people
are united as one man for country ; and the people's
hearts to-day go out to the soldiers of the United States,
who are doing battle for the country in the Philippines.
[Applause.^ Your hearts, your hopes, your prayers are
with them; and if I am not mistaken, the American
people do not propose, whatever may be the cost, to see
our flag dishonored anywhere. [Enthusiastic applause.]
310 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLXXXIV.
Speech at Dubuque, Iowa, October 16, 1899.
My Felloiv- Citizen s :
The welcome on the part of the citizens of this the
second city of the State is cordially appreciated and will
be long remembered and cherished. This is a year of
sublime patriotism. From one end of your State to the
other, in all the sections of the West through which we
have traveled, we have heard but one music, that the
music of the Union ; but one song, that the hymn of
the republic. [Great applause.] And we have seen but
one flag, the flag of our fathers and ours [applause] ;
the flag of a happy, reunited, and never-to-be-severed
nation [enthusiastic applause]— a flag that expresses our
hopes, our purposes, and our faith ; a flag that expresses
the sacrifices which w^e are willing to make for it and
what it represents anywhere and everywhere when as-
sailed. [Great ay^plause.]
I have come to-day, my fellow-citizens, not only to
greet you all, but to make public acknowledgment in
this great city of the patriotism of the people of Iowa.
[Applause.] You not only served and sacrificed for the
Union in the great Civil War, giving up many of the
best young men of the State on the altar of country
that the Union might be preserved, but in the war with
Spain this State, almost the first of the Federal
Union, answered to the call of the government. [Ap-
plause.] There was no halting and no hesitation;
your full quota was filled immediately, and others were
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 311
eager and anxious to enlist. All of your soldiers did
not have service on the firing-line, but they did their
whole duty. That they were not called to the field of
active operations was because the war was too quickly
closed. [Enthusiastic applause.] They were ready and
anxious to go, and disappointed that they were not per-
mitted to go. To them I want to say that, like the sol-
diers at the front, they have won the gratitude of the
republic ; for they did their whole duty, and that is all
any soldier can do. [Great applause.]
You were fortunate, my fellow-citizens, inasmuch as
we had to have trouble in the Philippines, that you
could send one regiment to that distant island. And I
want to say of them that they did even more than their
duty. Possibly I ought not to say that; but they did
even more than was required by their terms of enlist-
ment. They had the privilege of muster out when the
ratifications of the treaty of peace were exchanged.
That was the end of their term, if they had sought to
claim the privilege, but when offered to them they re-
fused to accept it. [Great applause.] They said : " We
will stay with the government. We will stay with the
flag until you can make a new army to take our places."
And they did it. [Enthusiastic applause.] All honor
to the Iowa regiment in the Philippines, now with their
faces turned homeward ! [Applause.] God grant them
a safe arrival in their old State, among their own friends
and families, at their own homes ! [Applause.]
I never travel through this mighty West, a part of the
Louisiana Purchase, — Iowa, part of Minnesota, and the
Dakotas, — that I do not feel like ofi'ering my gratitude
to Thomas Jefferson for his wisdom and foresight in
acquiring this vast territory, to be peopled by men and
312 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
women such as I have seen here and elsewhere in these
four States. [Great applause.] You have carried civili-
zation and education ; you have built churches ; you have
made this the garden spot of the country ; and you have
added new strength and honor to the nation.
And now, my fellow-citizens, having said this much,
and with only a moment to tarry, I want simply to say
one other thing, and that is that our flag in the Philip-
pines still waves there [enthusiastic applause], and it
waves not as the banner of imperialism, it waves not as
the symbol of oppression, but it waves as it waves here
and everywhere, the flag of freedom, of hope, of home
of civilization. [Loud and prolonged applause.]
CLXXXV.
Speech at Galena, Illinois, October 16, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I recall with pleasure my former visit to this city,
when some years ago I came to speak at the dedication
of the monument to that great soldier and lover of
peace. General Ulysses S. Grant. He has set us an ex-
ample both in war and in peace. In war unconditional
surrender was his requirement; and after the war his
constant and most fervent prayer was for the unifica-
tion of the States and the peace of his country.
We are having some trouble over in the Philippines,
and, remembering Grant's requirement of unconditional
surrender, hostilities will cease when those who com-
menced the war upon our flag shall cease to fire at our
troops and acknowledge American authority. [En-
thusiastic applause.]
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 313
On his second proposition there has been complete
and perfect reconciliation between the sections. There
is no North and no South, except as mere geographic
divisions. They no longer suggest the long bloody war
through which the country passed. All sections are
united, and passion, hate, and prejudice have totally
disappeared; and we thank God for it. [Applause.]
We are now a united country, and we are united for the
right ; we are united for liberty ; we are united for civili-
zation ; we are united for humanity. And being thus
united, we are invincible. [Great applause.]
CLXXXVL
Speech at Ipswich, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
It is a very great pleasure to meet you and to be
presented by your distinguished representative in Con-
gress [Representative Cooper].
Our nation is one of great benevolence and of great
blessings. We not only care for the great interests of
the government in our foreign relations, but we spend
millions upon public education ; millions more are spent
by the people for churches ; still more millions are spent
by the States for the care of the unfortunate of our popu-
lation. The orphans' homes, the industrial homes, the
homes for the aged, the homes for disabled veterans who
have served their country, all attest the benevolence of
the American nation and the American people. Not
only are we a nation of benevolence, but we are a nation
that is helpful to our people— helpful to all the people.
314 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
Every boy and girl can have a good education— one
that will equip them for every duty and occupation of
life. Not only are they thus educated by the State and
the nation, but when once educated they have open to
them, and to every one of them, the highest opportuni-
ties for advancement. They are not prevented because
they are poor from aspiring to the highest places in the
gift of the government. We have no classes. No
matter what their creed, their party, no matter what may
be their condition, no matter about their race or their
nationality, they all have an equal opportunity to secm'e
private and public positions of honor and profit.
My fellow-citizens, a government like ours is worth
preserving in all its vigor and its integrity. And as I
look into your faces, and as I think of our American
homes and American schools, I feel that our sacred in-
stitutions are safe in their keeping. TGreat applause.]
CLXXXVII.
Speech at Dodgbville, Wisconsin,
October 16, 1899.
Mij Fellow-Citizens :
We have everything to be thankful for. Our credit
as a nation never was better, while the credit of the
individual citizen has improved. Our money never was
more abundant ; every dollar of it is as good as gold in
every market-place of the world. [Applause.] Our
bonds at three per cent, interest could easily have been
sold at a premium when they were offered to the people,
but the law prohibited it. But no sooner had they
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 315
passed into the possession of the people than they at
once advanced in price. There is no fear of the ability
of the government to meet every one of its obligations.
The greenbacks no longer seek the Treasury to drain it
of gold. The people want the greenbacks and prefer
them to gold. The endless chain has been broken, and
endless confidence in the government has set in. [Ap-
plause.]
Not only is this country strong and rich and pros-
perous in its material things, but it is mighty in its
intelligence, virtue, and patriotism. [Applause.] We
have fought a war since I last met you— a war, not for
territory, not for gain, not for glory, but for humanity.
[Great applause.] And the war was stopped sooner
than anybody expected it would be. We sunk the
enemy's ships at Manila, and we sunk their ships at
Santiago ; and we took the surrender of all their troops
in the West Indies, and subsequently of all their troops
in the Philippines. [Applause.] And the islands are
ours ! [Enthusiastic applause. A voice, " We want to
keep them, Mr. President !"] The voice of the people in
this country is the law of the land. [Great applause.]
Our flag is in the Philippines, and our brave boys are
carrying it in honor, and the government of the United
States will stand behind them. [Long-continued ap-
plause.]
316 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CLXXXVIII.
Speech at Mount Horeb, Wisconsin,
October 16, 1899.
My Felloic-Citizens :
It gives me very great pleasure to meet the people of
this community, and to be presented by one of your
neighbors and fellow-citizens, your representative in
Congress [Representative Dahle].
I congratulate you all upon the condition of the
country as a whole and upon the prosperous condition
of the people. Hard times have given place to good
times. We are enjoying an era of debt-paying rather
than debt-making. We are not only prosperous in our
domestic manufactures and our domestic trade, but we
are extremely fortunate in our foreign trade. I note by
the newspapers this morning that in the month of Sep-
tember of this year— last month only— we sent abroad
twenty million dollars' worth of our products more than
we sent in September, 1898 ; so that we are not only
manufacturing more in this country and producing
more than we ever did, but we are finding a larger and
wider market. We send more of our goods abroad and
buy less abroad than formerly, and the balance of trade
is therefore in our favor, and comes to us in gold.
Not only, my fellow-citizens, have we been fortunate
in our business affairs, but we have been alike fortunate
in the war that has been concluded. No nation was ever
more happy than ours that it was quickly disposed of.
The fleet of Dewey in Manila and the American fleet in
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 317
Santiago soon destroyed all of the Spanish sea-power,
and when that was done the victory was won. And
through all that war, my countrymen, we had the high-
est exhibitions of humanity. Our fallen foes were
tenderly cared for. We observed the highest honor in
all our dealings with the Spanish people ; and as a result
of that war grave responsibilities were put upon us.
We did not seek them. We went only that we might
relieve the Cuban people of an oppression under which
they had been suffering for years— our neighbors, close
to us, almost on our very borders. We went to war
that we might give them relief, and as a result we have
Porto Rico and the Philippines. They have come to
us in the providence of God, and we must carry the
burden, whatever it may be, in the interest of civiliza-
tion, humanity, and liberty. [Cxreat applause.!
CLXXXIX.
Speech at Madison, Wisconsin, October 16, 1899.
My Fellow-GlUzens :
I have the most pleasant memories of my former
visits to your beautiful capital city. On those occa-
sions we were engaged in the discussion of great eco-
nomic questions affecting the interests of the country.
The voice of partizanship is hushed to-day, and the
voice of patriotism is alone heard in the land. [Great
applause.] We know neither party nor creed nor sect
nor nationality in our devotion to a common country
and a common flag. We are all one in the presence of
a great national duty, and there are no divisions among
318 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
US whenever our flag is assailed, wherever and by
whomsoever. [Enthusiastic applause.]
We have gone through a war, the celerity of which
and the results of which are scarcely recorded of any
other war in history. The American arms triumphed on
land and on sea, with unprecedented exemption from
disease and death on the part of our soldiers and sailors.
We are proud of the army and the navy. They have
brought us great responsibilities ; they have brought us
new acquisitions and new territory ; and it is for us to
accept those responsibilities, meet them with manly
courage, respond in a manly fashion to manly duty, and
do what in the sight of God and man is just and right.
[Great applause.]
One tribe, and a small fraction of that tribe, is ques-
tioning the sovereignty of the United States in the island
of Luzon. The very people we emancipated from op-
pression assailed our flag and shot our soldiers. The
shedding of blood is anguish to my soul. The giving
up of the lives of our bravest and best young men
wrings my heart. The shedding of the blood of the
misguided Filipinos is a matter of sorrow to all of
us. And yet they are resisting the sovereignty of
the United States over a territory which we acquired,
not by conquest alone, but by the solemn treaty of
peace sanctioned by the Congress of the United States.
When our authority is undisputed in every part of that
archipelago hostilities will stop. May that time soon
come ! [Enthusiastic cheering.]
It is said we could have peace if we would give them
independence and a government of their own under their
own sovereignty. It is said that if the President would
do this we would have peace. The President has no
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 3 19
power, even if lie was disposed, which, he is not [great
applause], to alienate a single foot of territory which we
have honestly acquired, or give up sovereignty over it
to any other peoples. [Cheers.] That power belongs
to the people. It is vested in Congress, which repre-
sents the people, and no such power was ever given to
the Chief Executive by the people, by Congress, or by
the Constitution, and to use it would be a base usur-
pation of prerogative by the Chief Executive of the
government. And then, if we were going to cede the
islands away, to whom would we cede them ? There is
no government there but ours. The great majority of
the people acknowledge allegiance to our flag, and are
glad to have the shelter of its protection.
My fellow-citizens, the Philippines came to us not of
our seeking: none of us ever di-eamed, when this war
commenced, that we were to have either Porto Rico or
the Philippine Islands. We went to war for civilization
and for humanity, to relieve our oppressed neighbors in
Cuba. I was one of those who held back until the last
moment, hoping that war might be averted. I did not
want to involve my country in bloodshed. [Great ap-
plause.] But the war came, and a few of those who
wanted it most are now trying to shirk its responsibili-
ties. [Enthusiastic and continued applause.] Man
plans, but God Almighty executes. We cannot avoid
our responsibility. There was no fault in the victory ;
there must be no halting in upholding it. We have the
Philippines, and our flag is there.
This subject of expansion is not a new one. It was
the gospel of the early statesmen and patriots of this
country. It found substantial reahzation in the mag-
nificent achievement of that illustrious statesman,
320 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
Thomas Jefferson. It was the dream of Marcy. In 1853
he sought to acquire the Hawaiian Islands. It was the
dream of Seward; it was the dream of Douglas. Let
me read you what Stephen A. Douglas said in 1858—
forty-one years ago :
It is idle to tell me or you that we have land enough. Our
fathers supposed that we had enough when our territory extended
to the Mississippi River, but a few years' growth and expansion
satisfied them that we needed more, and the Louisiana Territory,
from the west branch of the Mississippi to the British possessions,
was acquired. Then we acquired Oregon, then California and
New Mexico. We have enough now for the present. But this is
a young and growing nation. It swarms as often as a hive of
bees, and as new swarms are turned out each year there must be
hives in which they can gather and make their honey. In less
than fifteen years, with the same progress, this coimtry will be occu-
pied. Will you not continue to increase at the end of fifteen years as
well as now ? I tell you, increase and multiply and expand is the law
of this nation's existence. You cannot limit this great republic by
mere boundary-lines, saying, " Thus far shalt thou go, and no
farther." Any one of you gentlemen might as well say to a son twelve
years old that he is big enough and must not grow any larger, . . .
With our natural increase, growing with a rapidity unknown to any
other part of the globe, with the tide of immigration that is fleeing
fi'om despotism in the Old World to seek refuge in our own, there is
a constant toi'rent pouring into this country that requires more
land, more territory upon which to settle ; and just as fast as our
interests and our destiny require additional territory in the north,
or in the south, or on the islands of the ocean, I am for it.
I have been more than glad to meet the young men
of the State university. [Applause. J Only a few years
more and upon them and upon the other young men of
the country will rest the responsibility of government.
I bid them and all the boys of the land, while they have
an opportunity, to equip themselves for this great trust,
that they may be able to carry on the government un-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 321
impaired in vigor, virtue, liberty, and conscience. [En-
thusiastic and long-continued applause.]
cxc.
Speech at Waukesha, Wisconsin,
October 16, 1899.
My Fellow-Oitizens :
As I return homeward from the great West, it gives
me much pleasure to stop in your city. My journey
has been one of increasing interest. Everywhere we
have gone, whether in the town or the city or the
village or by the farmside, we have been welcomed
by the same joyous hearts and with the same warm
words with which you receive us here to-night. [Ap-
plause.] I go back stronger for the great duties and
responsibilities which the people three years ago placed
upon me, and with unfaltering faith in the wisdom and
the patriotism and the virtue and the power of the
American people. [Great applause.]
The school-children about us are being prepared every
day, not only in the home, but in the school, for the re-
sponsibilities which in time will rest upon them, to carry
forward this great structure of government. In their
hands and in yours liberty is safe, not only within the
United States, but in every part of the territory of the
United States over which our flag floats. [Long-con-
tinued applause.]
21
322 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
CXCI.
Speech at the Deutscher Club, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, October 16, 1899.
3Iy Felloiv- Citizens :
I thank the people of the city of Milwaukee, and all the
people present, for their magnificent welcome here to-
night. I have every assurance that it comes from your
warm hearts, not to me as an individual, but as expres-
sive of your love of country [great applause] and your
devotion to our free institutions [continued applause],
which give the highest rewards to human energy and
the widest opportunities for human development. [Con-
tinued applause.]
Nothing can befall this republic so long as the people
of the United States exhibit that loyalty and patriotism
which have characterized them from 1776 down to the
present year. [Applause.] This republic rests not upon
force, not upon the strength of our armies or our navies,
but upon the masterful power of the American people.
[Great applause.] And I do not mistake the temper
of the people when I say that wherever that starry
banner of the free is raised it stands for liberty and
humanity [continued applause] ; and whoever assails it
and wherever it is assailed, the assailants will be met
with the strong, mighty arm of the government of the
United States. [Enthusiastic applause, long continued.]
I thank you one and all for this hearty reception, and
wish for you the highest realization of all that is noble
in life, in character, and in home. [Long-continued
applause]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 323
CXCII.
Speech at the Banquet of the Merchants and
Manufacturers' Association, Milwaukee, Wiscon-
sin, October 16, 1899.
Mr. Toastmaster and Gentlemen :
I am profoundly grateful to the Merchants and Manu-
factui'ers' Association of the city of Milwaukee for this
more than hospitable welcome. I am glad to meet with
the representative business men of this enterprising city,
whose commercial integrity and business honor stand,
and have stood, unsullied amidst the shock and peril of
financial disaster, and stand to-night unchallenged in
the business world. [Applause.]
I rejoice at your progress and prosperity. Your prod-
ucts last year, amounting to one hundred and forty-
two million dollars, were carried on every sea and to
most of the ports of the world. May we not hope, with
our expanding markets and our increasing export trade,
at no very distant future to rehabilitate our merchant
marine and send our ships of commerce into every ocean,
carrying American products under the shelter of the
American flag ? [Applause.]
In the acquisition of wealth the people of Milwaukee
have not forgotten the aids and refinements of civiliza-
tion. I passed to-night that noble monument to learn-
ing and education, your public library and museum.
[Applause.] At the public reception, with the thousands
that passed by me there was one small boy, not above
fourteen years of age, poorly clad, but with bright eyes
and a manly face, carrying a book under his arm that he
324 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
liad drawn from that public library. [Applause.] This
aid, with others which the nation and the State are fur-
nishing, will equip the young men of the country to take
the trust and responsibilities of public affairs after we
shall have laid them down.
This State has every reason to be proud not only of
its educational progress and its industrial triumphs, but
of its patriotism. [Applause.] In the great Civil War you
furnished tens of thousands of brave men, who went
forth to give their lives, if need be, for the preservation
of the Union. No service was too great, no demand of
country too severe for the soldiers of the Civil War. And
in the recent war with Spain you did your full part, and
fm*nished your full quota with a promptness and alac-
rity equal to that of any other State of the Union.
[Great applause.] Milwaukee has every reason to be
proud of the men she has furnished as soldiers and sailors :
General King [applause], faithful to his country in the
Philippines ; and that other gallant and intrepid soldier
who has added new laurels to American arms in the per-
son of General MacArthur. [Great applause.] Born in
your city, he has brought honor to the place of his birth.
And then in that other branch of the public service, the
navy, you furnished the executive officer of the Oregon
[applause], the ship that traveled fourteen thousand
miles around the world, and when it reached our shore,
wired to Washington that it was ready for duty and
needed no repairs [great applause] ; and Captain Cot-
ton, who came from this city [applause], commanded
that auxiliary to the navy known as the Harvard, and
did valiant service in the West Indies.
We are all proud of our country. The toast you have
given me is " The President of the United States." It
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 325
is not proper at a banquet to speak to your toast.
[Laughter.] Some people appear to be disturbed about
the President's policy. [Laughter and applause.] The
President has no policy against the will of the people.
[Enthusiastic applause.] The best policy in this world
for man or nation is duty. [Applause.] Where that
calls we should follow. We should not halt. We should
not hesitate. Responsibility born of duty cannot be
evaded with honor. We are in the Philippines. Our
flag is there. The first requirement, the indispensable
requirement, is peace. [Enthusiastic applause, long con-
tinued.] No terms until the undisputed authority of
the United States shall be acknowledged throughout
the archipelago ! After that Congress will make a gov-
ernment under the sovereignty of the United States.
[Cries of " Good ! " Applause.] In no other way, gentle-
men, can we give peace to the national conscience or peace
to the world. [Long-continued applause.l
CXCIII.
Remarks at the Iron Foundries, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, October 17, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
As I have been journeying through the country I have
been welcomed with a warm cordiality by my fellow-citi-
zens, but at no place have I had a reception that has
given me more genuine pleasure, more real satisfaction,
than the greetings of the working-men of this great estab-
lishment and the other great establishments of this city
about the buildings in which they toil. [Great applause.]
326 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
I congratulate you all upon the prosperity of the
country. The employer is looking for the laborer and
not the laborer for the employer, and I am glad to note,
from one end of the country to the other, a universal de-
mand for labor.
I thank you more than I can find words to express, and
wishing you all good things, I bid you good-by. [En-
thusiastic applause.]
CXCIV.
Speech at Racine, Wisconsin, October 17, 1899.
3Iy Felloiv-Citizens :
If I were not moved by the welcome of this great
assemblage of my countrymen I would be indifferent
indeed to all human sensibilities. I am glad to stand in
this city of diversified industries and busy toilers and
look into the faces of the people who have made your
city what it is.
This is a nation of high privilege and great op-
portunity. We have the free school, the open Bible,
freedom of religious worship and conviction. We have
the broadest opportunity for advancement, with every
door open. The humblest among you may aspire to
the highest place in public favor and confidence. As a
result of our free institutions the great body of the men
who control public affairs in State and nation, who con-
trol the great business enterprises of the countrj^, the
railroads and other industries, came from the humble
American home and from the ranks of the plain people
of the United States. [Applause.]
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 327
I have no sympathy with that sentiment which would
divide my countrymen into classes. I have no sym-
pathy with that sentiment which would put the rich man
on the one side and the poor man on the other,— labor
on one side and capital on the other [applause],— because
all of them are equal before the law, all of them have
equal power in the conduct of the government. Every
man's vote in the United States is the equal of every
other's on that supreme day when we choose rulers and
Congresses and governors and legislatures. [Applause.]
Our citizens may accumulate great wealth, and many
of them do ; but they cannot take it with them, nor can
they entail it from generation to generation. He who
inherits must keep it by his own prudence or sagacity.
If he does not, it is divided up among his fellows.
My fellow-citizens, I am here only to speak a word of
thanks and of gratitude for this welcome. Our country
is more prosperous to-day than it has ever been before.
It is more patriotic at this hour than at any other hour
in aU its history. Om* thoughts, our prayers go to the
brave men in the distant islands of the sea who are
upholding the flag in honor. [Great applause.] And
while they are doing that we will uphold them.
[Cries of " Good ! " Applause.] All hostilities will
cease in the Philippines when those who commenced
them stop [aj^plause] ; and they will not cease until our
flag, representing liberty, humanity, and civilization,
shall float triumphantly in every island of the archi-
pelago under the acknowledged sovereignty of the repub-
lic of the United States. [Long-continued applause.]
328 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
cxcv.
Reiharks at Kenosha, Wisconsin, October 17, 1899.
My Fellow- Citizens :
I very much value the great receptions which have
been accorded to the members of my official family and
myself as we have journeyed through our vast country.
I never meet a great concourse of people like the one
which stands before me, representative as it is of Ameri-
can life and character, carrying the flag of our country
borne by the veterans of the Civil War and by the newer
soldiers of the Spanish War, and the children, and all the
people having love of country in their hearts, that I do
not feel that the free institutions which were so wisely
established by the fathers will be forever safe in the
hands of the American people.
This is a busy hive of industry, where every man
can find work and wages, where all the people are
contented and happy and prosperous, and where all
of them love the flag and would have it maintained
in honor. [Great applause.] The patriotism of the
country was never higher than at this moment ; and
there is just one thing in the mind of every true Amer-
ican to-day, and that is that our flag, which has been as-
sailed in the Philippines, shall triumph, and those who
assail it shall fail of their purpose. [Enthusiastic cheer-
ing.] And hostilities in that distant island of Luzon
will cease whenever all the people recognize the authority
and sovereignty of the United States. [Long-continued
applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 329
CXCVI.
Speech at Waukegan, Illinois, October 17, 1899.
Mr. Mayor, tny Felloiv- Citizens :
I thank you for the words of welcome spoken in
your behalf by the mayor of this enterprising city. I
am always glad to meet the people whom it is my
privilege and honor for the time to serve. I am
glad to confess in any presence that I never meet my
countrymen in public assembly that I am not assisted in
the great responsibilities which, by their suffrages, I am
carrying, and that I am not strengthened by such com-
mingling with them. The counsels of the people in a
government like ours are always noble and useful. The
will of the people is the law of the land ; and I am glad
to know not only what my countrymen are thinking
about, but to be advised by them always of what they
think is right and what is best in administration and
government. For, after all, the great body of the people
have a single interest, that of having their government
wisely, faithfully, and honestly administered. They
have little care for mere individuals, except as the in-
dividual may serve them best, and best represent the
principles which are dear to them in governmental policy.
Above all else you want your government administered
with integrity and for the equal benefit of all. [Ap-
plause.] You want it to be, not the representative of one
class of people, or still another class of people, but of
all the people, and to embody in it the best aims and the
noblest aspirations of all.
330 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
And SO I shall go back to the great duties of my
office cheered bj^ your encouraging words, strengthened
by your happy faces, in wliich I read devotion to coun-
try and an increasing love for our free institutions.
[Applause.] I shall go back feeling that I carry with me
the purposes which are in your hearts; and if I can
carry those purposes into i)ublic administration, then I
will have achieved the highest mission of a public servant.
[Applause.]
I think I know, I am sure I know, what is uppermost
in every mind here to-day. You are thinking of your
country ; not of its interests here at home, for with them
you are fairly satisfied and feel that they are secure.
You are thinking of the vast interests of the govern-
ment in the new possessions which have come to us by
the fortunes of war. Your hearts go out to the brave
men in the distant islands of the Pacific, where they are
maintaining the sovereignty of the United States over a
territory ceded to us by Spain by treaty, which has the
solemn sanction not only of the ratifying power of
the Senate, but of the Congress of the United States.
[Great applause.]
I cannot, my fellow-citizens, misread your purpose and
your conception of public duty. I am endeavoring, as
I am bound to do by the Constitution of the United
States, to execute the laws in every foot of territory
that belongs to us. [Applause.] Rebellion has been
raised against your authority in a territory that is as
much our own as Alaska or the District of Columbia or
any territory of the United States [applause] ; and that
rebellion will be put down [enthusiastic applause], and
the authority of the United States will be made suj)reme.
[General cry of " Good ! " Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 331
Some people say the President is carrying on an
unholy war in the Philippines— an unholy war to uphold
the holy banner of the free which these childi'en carry in
their hands, and which represents the sovereignty of the
republic ! [Great applause.] The people of the United
States never had an appeal made to duty which was in
vain. [Long-continued applause.]
CXCVII.
Speech at Evanston, Illinois, October 17, 1899.
Mp Felloiv-CHizens :
The welcome of the people of this city of culture and
of homes is most gratifying to me. I am glad to meet
all the people and the students of the great university
located here. I have the honor to be an alumnus of
that institution, and it is a great distinction to be on its
roll. [Applause.]
There will be much in the future resting upon the
young men of the country— the educated young men ;
and, fortunately, under our institutions every boy has
an opportunity to get a liberal education to fit him
for every occupation and calling of life. The responsi-
bilities which rest upon this nation at this time are
grave, but our duty is plain and unmistakable, and we
must follow its commands and meet these responsibilities
with courage and wisdom.
The authority of i;he United States is assailed in one
of the islands of the Pacific. That authority will be es-
tablished in those islands. [Great applause.] The boys
who carry our flag in that distant sea will be sustained
332 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
by the American people. [Great applause.] It is the flag
of oiir faith and our purpose ; it is the flag of our love.
It represents the conscience of the country, and carries
with it, wherever it goes, education, civilization, and
liberty. [Enthusiastic applause.] And let those lower
it who will ! [Cries of " Never ! "] Peace first, then
government afterward, giving the largest liberty possi-
ble and the largest participation in government of
which the inhabitants are capable. [Long-continued
applause.]
CXCVIII.
Remarks at Michigan City, Indiana,
October 17, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
This is an unexpected, but, I assure you, a most ap-
preciated greeting from my fellow-citizens of Indiana.
I am glad to see the school-children here, waving the
flag of their country, the flag they love so much, the
flag that means so much to all of us. I am glad to see
the working-men assembled here to-day, and to know
that in every part of our country they have employment
and wages, which bring comfort and hope and happi-
ness to their homes. [Great applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 33^
CXCIX.
Remarks at Three Oaks, Michigan,
October 17, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
We have had very many beautiful receptions in our
long journey through the great Northwest, but I assure
you we have had none more unique than the one you
have given us here in Three Oaks. I am glad to observe
the patriotic purpose of this people to preserve in mem-
ory for all who may come after the lesson of the great
achievements of the American navy. It has been given
to few navies of the world to win such signal and
memorable triumphs, accomplished, too, without any
loss of life. And the triumph which Dewey achieved at
Manila, and which gave us the Philippine Islands as our
territory and possession, accepted by the Congress of
the United States, will be upheld by the American peo-
ple. [Great applause.] And our flag that floats there,
not as the symbol of enslavement, but of emancipa-
tion, representing, as it does, the authority of the gov-
ernment of the United States, will be supported to
victory by all our people. [Enthusiastic applause.]
334 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
cc.
Remarks at Niles, Michigan, October 17, 1899.
My Fellotv-Citizens :
The name you bear is a very familiar one to me. It
is the name of the town in which I was born in Ohio.
[Great applause.] So that associated with it are some
of the sweetest and pleasantest memories of my boy-
hood days.
I am glad to feel, from the presence of this large
assembly at this time of the evening, the assurance that
you are here because of your devotion to your country.
[Great applause.] In your welcome to the Chief Execu-
tive of the nation you express your love and loyalty to the
government over which, by your suffrages, he presides.
It gives me pleasure, also, to look into the faces of the
constituents of my friend, your representative in Con-
gress, Mr. Hamilton. [Great applause.]
CCI.
Reiviarks at Battle Creek, Michigan,
October 17, 1899.
My Fellow-Citizens :
No human voice could reach the limits of this great
throng of my assembled countrymen. This welcome
which you accord to me to-night was wholly unexpected,
but I assure you it gives me unbounded pleasure. I re-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 335
call with the pleasantest memories a former visit I made
to this city several years ago. Then you gave me warm
greeting. To-night's so far surpasses it that I am deeply
touched, and am not able to make suitable acknowledg-
ment.
On the occasion of my last visit I was discussing
before you certain great economic questions. Those
questions, for the time at least, have been settled, and I
think happily settled. I stop to-night only to utter in a
single sentence the gratitude of my heart for the splendid
patriotism of the American people in the past eighteen
months. [Applause.] Michigan was not only great in
her devotion to her country in the Civil War, but when
the war with Spain came she was quick to respond to
the call of country, and her regiments were ready to do
and die for the honor of the government and for the
rehef of the people of Cuba from the oppression under
which they had suffered for so many years. I make
public acknowledgment here, as I do elsewhere, for this
almost unprecedented demonstration in favor of coun-
try. Michigan stood with us in the war until peace
came. Michigan will stand with us until the rebellion is
suppressed in Luzon and the flag of the nation floats in
triumph where it is now raised in the cause of humanity.
[Enthusiastic applause. 1
CCIL
Speech at Jackson, Michigan, October 17, 1899.
Mr. Mayor and my Fellow-Citizens :
I have very great regard as well as sympathy for the
patience you have exercised in the long wait you have
336 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
had to give us greeting. I thauk you most heartily
for this expression of your kindly feeling and good will.
It is gratifying to note, not only here, but everywhere
throughout the country, the increasing interest of the
people in public affairs. The vigilance of the citizen is
the safety of the republic. So long as the people exer-
cise a high degree of care and interest for the govern-
ment, so long will the repubhc be safe. There would
seem to be no danger from indifference at the present
hour. I think there never was a time when there was
so much thought and interest in public affairs as now.
Every citizen is deeply concerned for the welfare of his
country. He is fairly weU satisfied with conditions at
home. He is satisfied with the condition of the Trea-
sury. He is satisfied with the condition of business and
the universal prosperity which everywhere prevails.
His thought is not so much at home as it is in the new
possessions which have been added to American territory
through the valor of American arms and by the treaty
of peace. The thoughts of the country are now in the
Philippines. They follow the brave men, the soldiers
and sailors of the United States, who are upholding the
cause of our country in those distant islands of the sea.
We all want peace, not only here, but there. We want
the sovereignty and authority of the United States
recognized in that territory as fully as it is recognized
in every other territory belonging to the American
government. [Applause.] The American people regret
that those whom they emancipated, the very people
whom they relieved from oppression, should have
turned upon the soldiers of the United States, fouUy
assaulted them, and resisted our sovereignty.
But having done it, there is nothing left for the gov-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 337
emment of the United States to do but to establish, at
whatever cost may be required, its unquestioned au-
thority in those ceded islands. [Applause.] And as the
boys at the front are carrying the flag, the hearts of
the people follow them, and the government will stand
behind them until that flag is carried to a triumphant
peace. [Great applause.]
CCIII.
Remaeks at the Hollenden, Cleveland, Ohio,
October 18, 1899.
Mij Fellow-Citizens :
Many friends have greeted us in the past two weeks
as we have traveled through the country. Our wel-
come has been warm and generous and heartfelt, and
it is especially pleasant to come back to the early friends,
the friends of a lifetime, whose heart-throbs I have felt for
more than a quarter of a century, and whose unfaltering
fidehty to the cause which, for the moment, I represented,
and to the country which I have been trying to serve,
has never been interrupted. [Applause.] And whether
they are new friends or old, whether they are in the far
Northwest or in the great center of our country, all of
them are devoted to our free institutions and to the
honor and integrity of the flag. [Applause.] I think I
have never seen such a demonstration of patriotism,
such an exhibition of public consecration, as I have
witnessed in the last two weeks. The grave and serious
problems which rest upon us account for this unusual
interest on the part of the people in public affairs. The
22
338 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
problems are grave ; the responsibilities are great. No-
body feels them more than I do. And yet, my countrymen,
our duty is plain, straightforward, unmistS-kable, to stand
by the national honor and protect the territory we got by
solemn treaty. [Enthusiastic applause.] Our soldiers
carrying our flag in Luzon will be supported by the peo-
ple of the United States [continued applause], and hos-
tilities will stop in that distant island of the sea when the
men who assaulted our flag and our soldiers shall lay down
their arms. [Cries of " Good ! " Applause.] Peace will
come, and I trust and believe will come shortly, and we
will be able to give to the people in the Philippines a
government of liberty and law, a government which will
encourage their best aspirations and their noblest aims,
a government under the sovereignty of the United
States. [Great applause.!
CCIV.
Speech at Warren, Ohio, October 18, 1899.
iify Fellow-Citizens :
With unfeigned pleasure I come back, after many
years of absence, to meet my fellow-citizens of the
county of my birth and boyhood. I need not assure
you that this presence awakens many tender and sacred
memories. In my boyhood days I recall with vivid
recollections the elder business men of the city of
Warren; I recall the old and distinguished lawyers,
the merchants, as well as many of the leading farmers
of this vicinity •, and to-day I see but few of them before
me in this audience. But their sons have taken up the
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 339
work which was inaugurated by their intelligence and
industry, and you now have one of the most thriving
and prosperous cities of the Western Reserve.
From this center went forth some of the best citizenship
of the country, and from here radiated throughout this
entire State— indeed, through the nation— the senti-
ment of liberty, devotion to country, and love of the flag.
Great men were produced on this Western Reserve, and
their influence has been felt in every village and ham-
let of the land. The people of the Western Reserve
have always adhered to principle. They were never
side-tracked by mere policy. Whatever in their minds
and consciences was right, that they did ; and they always
pursued the path of duty, which they believed was the
path of right.
We have now before us some problems quite as serious
as any that have ever confronted the republic. No ap-
peal can be made to this constituency in vain. We are
in the Philippines. We have acquired that territory,
not by conquest alone, but by solemn treaty and with
the sanction of the Senate and the national House of
Representatives. That territory is ours just as much
as any part of the great public domain. [Great ap-
plause.] It came to us not of our own seeking. We
did not go out after it. We did not send Dewey to
Manila to conquer those islands. We sent him to
Manila when we were at war with Spain, to destroy the
sea-power of the government against which we were
fighting. [Great applause.] Dewey found its ships in
the harbor of Manila and obeyed the orders of his gov-
ernment to capture or destroy them. [Continued ap-
plause.] When that was done there was a duty put upon
the government of the United States by the act of
340 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
Dewey's fleet— a duty to protect life and property and
preserve the peace within his jurisdiction. [Applause.]
There is a rebellion in one of the islands now, but it will
be put down as we put down all rebellions against the
sovereignty of the United States. [Enthusiastic and
long-continued applause.] Our flag is there— rightfully
there ; as rightfully there as the flag that floats above
me is here ; and it is there, not as the flag of tyranny or
as the symbol of slavery, but it is there for what it is
here and for what it is everywhere [applause] — justice
and liberty and right and civilization. And wherever
the American nation plants that flag, there go with it
the hearts and consciences and humane purposes of the
American people. [Long-continued applause.]
GOV.
Remarks at Niles, Ohio, October 18, 1899,
My Fellow- Citizens :
I fear I will not be able to make myself heard by this
great audience. It is to me a matter of extreme pleasure
to be able, after so many years of absence, to come back to
the old town in which I was born [great applause] ; and
I need not tell you that many very cherished memories
crowd my mind as I stand in this presence. The old
frame school-house and the church have disappeared,
and in their places splendid structures have been built.
This town has had its ups and its downs. I am glad
to know that it is enjoying the upward rise at this time,
and that prosperity is in your shops and factories, and
happiness and contentment in your homes.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 341
I know, my fellow-citizens, that you will be certain of
the high appreciation I feel to have the school-children
of my native town here in such vast numbers waving
the flag we love. [Great applause.] We never loved
that flag as we love it to-day. There never were so
many people devoted to it, willing to sacrifice life for it,
as there are in the United States to-day. And wher-
ever that flag is raised by the soldiers of the United
States, it represents just what it represents here— the
highest privileges, the broadest opportunities, and the
widest liberty to the people beneath it. [Enthusiastic
applause.]
CCVI.
Speech at Youngstown, Ohio, October 18, 1899.
Mij Felloiv-CiUzens :
This seems to me very much like old times, and recalls
many scenes of former days. I do not conceal in this
presence the very high pleasure I have in meeting once
more in this city, so dear to me, my former constituents
and my old friends of the Eighteenth Ohio District. I
was a boy in the county. I served you in the Con-
gress of the United States ; I served you as governor
of our beloved State ; and while holding these several
ofiices was always greeted by you with generous and
heartfelt welcome. And I can but make public ac-
knowledgment here that in all my public and political
life, covering now a period of nearly twenty-five years,
I have ever enjoyed the support and encouragement of
these good people who have assembled about me this
evening. Nor can I fail to congratulate this community,
342 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
devoted as it is to industry and manufacture, upon the
improved condition of the country in the last two years
and a half. Nothing in this whole journey of mine, of
more than five thousand miles into the great North-
west and through the Central and Western States, has
given me more genuine pleasure than the welcome I
have had from Cleveland to Youngstown by the work-
ing-men employed in the mills and factories along the
line. No cheer has been more encouraging or more
helpful to me than the cheer given by the men as
they came out of the mills and waved their shining
dinner-buckets, now full when once they were empty.
[Applause.] I felicitate with you, for no man could have
had a deeper interest in the welfare of this city than
myself. I rejoice with you upon the wonderful growth
and development of this Mahoning valley, and upon the
marvelous advancement of your city in population and
in industry.
I have met with you many times in the years gone by,
in public discussion touching questions that affected the
interest and well-being of this community ; I have been
here when wild passions moved the community; but
I never made an appeal to the judgment of the men
of this city and county that was made in vain. [Ap-
plause.]
We have now before us some grave problems in gov-
ernment— problems that demand, not only from the
President, but from all the people, steady and sober
judgment; problems not to be settled by one party or
another, but by all the people; problems wider than
party or section ; problems that are national, and which
this people must settle, and settle for right and justice,
following the plain path of duty.
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 343
We are in the Philippines. Our flag is there; our
boys in bkie are there. They are not there for conquest :
they are not there for dominion. They are there be-
cause, in the providence of God, who moves mysteriously,
that great archipelago has been placed in the hands of the
American people. [Great applause.] When Dewey sank
the ships at Manila, as he was ordered to do, it was not
to capture the Philij^pines. It was to destroy the Span-
ish fleet, the fleet of the nation against which we were
waging war ; and we thought that the soonest way to end
that war was to destroy the power of Spain to make war,
and so we sent Dewey. [Applause.] And the islands
came to us. It was no responsibility we sought, but it
was a responsibility put upon us. Will the American
people shirk it ? [Cries of " No ! "] Have the American
people ever been known to run away from a high moral
duty ? [Repeated cries of '' No ! "] Our flag is there,
not as the symbol of oppression, not as the token of ty-
ranny, not as the emblem of enslavement, but represent-
ing there, as it does here, liberty, humanity, and civiliza-
tion. [Great applause.]
There was no cloud in Dewey's victory, and there will
be no doubt or hesitation in preserving it. But, my fel-
low-citizens, I have talked longer than I intended to.
[Cries of " Go on ! "] I only appeared to make my ac-
knowledgment for this welcome from old constituents
and old neighbors. I owe you much. I owe you more
than I can ever return to you for your unfaltering sup-
port and the early encouragement you gave me as a
struggling young man in this county. [Enthusiastic
and long-continued applause.]
344 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CCVII.
Speech at Public Reception in Youngstown,
Ohio, October 18, 1899.
My FeUoiv-Citkens :
My understanding was that the evening was not to
be given over to speech-making, but that I was to have
the privilege of shaking hands, so far as I was able, with
my fellow-citizens who might assemble here. The very
great number, however, who have honored me here would
seem to make it impossible to proceed with a reception
and to meet all of you, and so, in answer to your call, I
appear only that I may say that I appreciate, more than
I am able to express, the very heartfelt greeting that the
people of Youngstown have accorded me on the occa-
sion of this visit.
I have traveled a long distance thi-oughout the coun-
try, meeting the people at every station through eight
or ten States in great assemblages like the one that is
before me to-night ; and everywhere I have gone there
has been the same manifestation of kindly feeling one
toward another, of general good will, and of lofty
patriotism.
The country everywhere is prosperous. The idle
mills of three years ago have been opened, the fires
have been rebuilt, and heart and hope have entered
the homes of the people. For that I feel like ex-
tending to all of you sincere and hearty congratu-
lations. The government of the United States, your
government, the great machinery of administration, is
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 345
going on well. We are collecting, every working-day of
every month, sixteen hundred thousand dollars, which
sum goes into the public Treasury to pay the current
expenses of the government and the extraordinary ex-
penses occasioned by the war. One million of that six-
teen hundred thousand comes from internal revenue,
largely upon spirits and tobacco, and the other six hun-
dred thousand comes from a tariff, which you know all
about here, put upon foreign products that come into the
United States for consumption. I do not think that
any of you feel very seriously either form of taxation.
None of you seem to be suffering because of that large
sum daily flowing into the public Treasury. While that
sum is going into the Treasury, wages are going into
the pockets of labor and profits are rewarding capital.
Not only are our financial affairs in good condition, —
for we have two hundred and fifty-six million dollars in
gold now in the Treasury belonging to the government,—
but we are at peace with every nation of the world. We
are on friendly relations with every power of earth.
Never were there more good feeling and good fellowship
existing between the United States and other nations of
the world than to-day.
We are having some trouble, it is true, in the Philip-
pines. That we could not help. The Philippines are
ours. The men whom we emancipated from slavery,
the men to whom we brought liberty, a fraction of a
single tribe in a single island of the great archipelago,
assailed the flag and the soldiers of the United States
carrying it on that island ; and nothing is left for us to
do but put down the rebellion [great applause], and
that we propose to do [renewed applause]. I hope
it will not last long. And, as I said, that territory
346 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
is ours. It is ours just as fully as any foot of terri-
tory in tlie United States. There is no flaw in our
title. Openly made was the treaty of peace, openly
ratified by the Senate of the United States, openly and
publicly confirmed by the House of Representatives;
and those islands stand to-day the territory of the
Union, and as long as they are our territor}^ the sover-
eignty of the United States must be supreme. [Great
applause.]
Thanking you, my fellow-citizens, for your attendance
in such vast numbers here to-night, and expressing to
you, as I have already expressed to the great audience
on the public square, my deep appreciation of the greet-
ing received, I will close. I can never forget our old
relations. I can never forget your support of me in
the years that have gone by. [Applause.] When I was
your representative in Congress, my whole aim, my whole
purpose, my whole time, were devoted to the welfare of
my constituents and the prosperity of my country. [Ap-
plause.] And if I have done anything in the course of
my public life that gives me satisfaction to-night, it is
that possibly in some small way I have helped to add
one additional day's labor for the American working-
man. [Applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 347
CCVIII.
Response to the Cojeniittee Presentestg a Peace
Petition Urging the Friendly Services of the
United States in Mediation between Great
Britain and the Boers, Executive Mansion, Oc-
tober 26, 1899.
Gentlemen :
It gives me pleasure to receive you, bearing, as you
do, the expression of the sentiment of peace and good
will throughout the world, in which I concur. I am
glad to meet you, and shall give due consideration to
the views of a body of men so eminent in character and
ability, voicing the sentiment of the petition which you
have presented to me, and of the mass-meeting held in
New York, October 11.
We all regret the outbreak of hostilities in South
Africa. The bloodshed and the suffering on both sides
affect us profoundly, and the protection of American
interests involved demands the special concern of the
government. The situation imposes upon us the neces-
sity of a reserve both in our words and in our actions,
lest we should unwittingly do injustice to either party
in the controversy, or do violence to our traditional
policy of impartiality.
I thank you for this visit, and beg to say that what
you set forth shall have my earnest and serious con-
sideration.
348 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
CCIX.
Remarks at Fredericksburg, Virginia,
October 31, 1899.
My Felloiv-Citizetis :
It gives me very great pleasure to meet my fellow-
citizens of Fredericksburg, and your welcome is all the
more appreciated because upon such an inclement morn-
ing so many of the people have assembled here. I am
sure you will not expect me to do more than to make
this simple acknowledgment of your courtesy and kind-
ness. [Applause.]
ccx.
Remarks at Ashland, Virginia, October 31, 1899.
3£y Felloiv- Citizens :
The welcome extended to me by the governor of Vir-
ginia on behalf of all of its people has very greatly
touched me. It gives me peculiar pleasure to come into
this State.
Over one of the chapels of the city of London is the
motto, "Think and thank." When we think of our
national blessings, when we think of our wonderful
progress and prosperity, when we think of the glorious
unification of all the people of our forty-five States and
of our Territories, we are most thankful to a kind
Providence that has cast our lines in such pleasant
OF wiLLL^M Mckinley. 349
places and given to us such a glorious heritage. If
we counted our mercies, our thanks for them would be
countless. [Great cheering and applause.]
CCXI.
Remarks at Railroad Station, Richmond, Virginia,
October 31, 1899.
3Ir Mat/or and my Fellow-Citizens :
I only appear for a moment to give heartfelt response
to the hospitable welcome awarded me by the people
of the city of Richmond through its honored chief
executive. Your mayor has kindly alluded to the good
feeling which everywhere prevails, and I can only,
in replying, say that if in the slightest degree I have
contributed to the unification of the country, it is the
proudest honor of my life. [Applause and cheers. J
This afternoon I am to speak for a few minutes, and
so, only thanking you, Mr. Mayor and my fellow-citizens,
for this welcome, I bid you all good morning. [Great
and continued applause.]
CCXII.
Speech at Richmond, Virginia, October 31, 1899.
Mr. Mayo7% Ladies and Gentlemen :
I am glad to meet my fellow-citizens of Richmond,
and to join with them in this interesting celebration in
honor of the launching of the torpedo-boat Shuh'iclc,
350 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
built in this city, of American material, by the labor of
American working-men, for the use of the American
navy. [Great applause.] I congratulate the builders and
workmen upon the evidence of their skill and industry,
so creditable to the manufacturing company and so
highly commended by the officers of the government.
This is not the first contribution which Richmond has
made to our splendid navy. She equipped the war-ship
Texas with all her machinery, boilers, and engines, which
were tried and tested with eminent satisfaction in the
brilliant naval engagement in the harbor of Santiago
[great applause], when that gallant vessel so gloriously
assisted in the destruction of Cervera's fleet, winning a
memorable victory and hastening an honorable and
enduring peace.
I heartily rejoice with the people of this great city
upon its industrial revival and upon the notable pros-
perity it is feeling in all of its business enterprises. You
are taking advantage of the commercial opportunities of
the hour. You are advancing in manufactures, extend-
ing your markets, and receiving a deserved share of the
world's trade. [Applause.]
What can be more gratifying to us than present
conditions f A universal love of country and a noble
national spirit animate all the people. We are on the
best of terms with each other, and on most cordial re-
lations with every power on earth. We have ample
revenues with which to conduct the government. No
deficit menaces our credit. Money is abundant in
volume and unquestioned in value. Confidence in the
present and faith in the future are firm and strong, and
should not be shaken or unsettled. The people are
doing business on business principles, and should be let
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 351
alone— encouraged rather than hindered in their efforts
to increase the trade of the country and find new and
profitable markets for their products. [Great applause.]
Manufacturing was never so active and so universally
enjoyed throughout all the States. Work was never so
abundant. The transportation companies were never so
taxed to handle the freight offered by the people for
distribution. The home and foreign markets contribute
to our prosperity. Happily the latter have increased
without any diminution of the former. Your locomo-
tives go to Russia ; the watch-cases from my little city of
Canton to Geneva; the bridges of Philadelphia span
the Nile, and the products of the American farm and
factory are carried upon every sea and find welcome in
most of the ports of the world. [Applause.]
In what respect would we change these happy condi-
tions with the promises they give of the future ? The
business activity in every part of the country ; the better
rewards to labor ; the wider markets for the yield of the
soil and the shop ; the increase of our ship-building, not
only for our government, but for purposes of commerce ;
the enormous increase of our export trade in manufac-
tures and agriculture ; the greater comforts of the home
and the happiness of the people ; the wonderful uplifting
of the business conditions of Virginia and the South and
of the whole country, mark this not only an era of good
will, but an era of good times. [Applause.]
It is a great pleasure to me to stand in this historic
capital and to look into the faces of my countrymen here
assembled, and to feel and know that we are all Ameri-
cans, standing as one for the government we love and
mean to uphold, united for the honor of the American
name and for the faithful fulfilment of every obligation
352 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
which national duty requires. [Great applause.] I could
not forget in this presence to make my acknowledgment
to the men of Virginia for their hearty and patriotic
support of the government in the war with Spain, and
for their continued and unflinching loyalty in the sup-
pression of the insurrection in Luzon against the author-
ity of the United States. They came in swift response
to the call of country,— the best blood of the State, the
sons of noble sires,— asking for service at the battle-
front where the fighting was the hardest and the danger
the greatest. The rolls of the Virginia volunteers con-
tain the names of the bravest and best, some of them the
descendants of the most illustrious Virginians. They
have shed their blood for the flag of their faith, and are
now defending it with their lives in the distant islands
of the sea. [Great applause.] All honor to the American
army and navj' ! [Continued applause.] All honor has
been shown the men returning from the field of hostili-
ties, and all honor attends those who have gone to take
their places.
My fellow-citizens, two great historical events, sepa-
rated by a period of eighty-four years, affecting the life
of the republic, and of awful import to mankind, took
place on the soil of Virginia. Both were participated in
by Virginians, and both marked mighty epochs in the
history of the nation. The one was at Yorktown in
1781, when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington,
which was the beginning of the end of the war with
Great Britain and the dawning of independence and
union. The great Virginian, sage and patriot, illustrious
commander and wise statesman, installed the republic in
the family of nations. It has withstood every shock in
war or peace from without or within, experiencing its
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 353
gravest crisis in the Civil War. The other, at Appo-
mattox, was the conclusion of that crisis and the be-
ginning of a unification now happily full and complete,
resting in the good will and fraternal affection one
toward another of all the people. [Great applause.]
Washington's terms of peace with Cornwallis secured
the ultimate union of the colonies, those of Grant with
Lee the perpetual union of the States. Both events
were mighty gains for the human family, and a |
proud record for a nation of freemen. Both were
triumphs in which we all have a share, both are a J
common heritage. The one made the nation possible,
the other made the nation imperishable. Now no ^, .
jarring note mars the harmony of the Union. The
seed of discord has no sower and no soil upon which to
live. The purveyor of hate, if there be one left, is with-
out a follower. The voice which would kindle the flame
of passion and prejudice is rarely heard and no longer
heeded in any part of our beloved country. [Prolonged
applause.]
Lord of the Universe,
Shield us and guide us,
Trusting thee always
Through shadow and sun.
Thou hast xmited us,
Who shall divide us?
Keep us, oh, keep us
The "Many in One."
Associated with this great commonwealth are many
of the most sacred ties of our national life. From here
came forth many of our greatest statesmen and heroes
who gave vigor and virtue and glory to the republic.
For thirty-seven of the sixty-one years from 1789 to
1850, sons of Virginia occupied the presidential office
354 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
with rare fidelity and distinction— a period covering more
than one fourth of our national existence. Wliat State,
what nation can have a greater heritage than such
names as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and
Marshall? Their deeds inspii'e the old and the young.
They are written in our histories. They are a part of
the education of every child of the land. They enrich
the school-books of the country. They are cherished in
every American home, and will be so long as liberty
lasts and the Union endures. [Applause.]
My countrymen, the sacred principles proclaimed in
Philadelphia in 1776, advanced to glorious triumph at
Yorktown, made effective in the formation of the Federal
Union in 1787, sustained by the heroism of all our people
in every foreign conflict, sealed in solemn covenant at
Appomattox Court-House, sanctified by the blood of the
men of the South and of the North at Manila and Santiago
and in Porto Rico, have lost none of their force and
virtue ; and the people of the United States will meet
their new duties and responsibilities with unfailing de-
votion to those principles, and with unfaltering purpose
to uphold and advance them. [Enthusiastic applause.]
Standing near the close of the century, we can look
backward with congratulation and pride, and forward
into the new century with confidence and courage. The
memories of the past impel us to nobler effort and higher
endeavor. It is for us to guard the sacred trust trans-
mitted by the fathers and pass on to those who follow
this government of the free, stronger in its principles
and greater in its power for the execution of its benefi-
cent mission. [Long-continued applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 355
CCXIII.
Address at the Washington Memorml Services,
Mount Vernon, December 14, 1899.
Mij Fellow-Citizens :
We have just participated in a service commemora-
tive of the one hundredth anniversary of the death of
George Washington. Here at his old home, which he
loved so well, and which the patriotic women of the
country have guarded with loving hands, exercises are
conducted under the auspices of the great fraternity of
Masons, which a century ago planned and executed the
solemn ceremonial which attended the Father of his
Country to his tomb. The lodge in which he was initi-
ated and the one over which he afterward presided as
Worshipful Master, accorded positions of honor at his
obsequies, are to-day represented here in token of pro-
found respect to the memory of their most illustrious
member and beloved brother.
Masons throughout the United States testify anew
their reverence for the name of Washington and the
inspiring example of his life. Distinguished representa-
tives are here from all the Grand Lodges of the country
to render the ceremonies as dignified and impressive as
possible, and most cordial greetings have come from
across our borders and from beyond the sea.
Not alone in this country, but throughout the world,
have Masons taken especial interest in the observance of
this centennial anniversary. The fraternity justly claims
the immortal patriot as one of its members ; the whole
356 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
human family acknowledges him as one of its greatest
benefactors. Public bodies, patriotic societies, and other
organizations, our citizens everywhere, have esteemed it
a privilege to-day to pay their tribute to his memory
and to the splendor of his achievements in the advance-
ment of justice and liberty among men. '■'■ His fair fame,
secure in its immortality, shall shine thi*o' countless ages
with undiminished luster."
The struggling republic for which Washington was
willing to give his life, and for which he ever freely
spent his fortune, and which at all times was the object
of his most earnest solicitude, has steadily and wonder-
fully developed along the lines which his sagacity and
foresight carefully planned. It has stood every trial,
and at the dawn of a new centurj'^ is stronger than ever
to carry forward its mission of liberty. During all the
intervening years it has been true, forever true, to the
precepts of the Constitution which he and his illustrious
colleagues framed for its guidance and government.
He was the national architect, says Bancroft the
historian, and but for him the nation could not have
achieved its independence, could not have formed its
Union, could not have put the federal government into
operation. He had neither precedent nor predecessor.
His work was original and constructive and has success-
fully stood the severest tests.
He selected the site for the capital of the republic he
founded, and gave it the name of the Federal City, but
the commission substituted the name of Washington as
the more fitting, and to be a perpetual recognition of the
services of the commander-in-chief of the Continental
Army, the president of the convention which framed the
Constitution, and the first President of the republic.
More than seventy-five millions of people acknowledge
OF WILLLA.M McKINLEY. 357
allegiance to the flag wliich lie made triumpliaiit. The
nation is his best eulogist and his noblest monument.
I have been deeply interested and touched by the
sentiments of his contemporaries, uttered a hundred
years ago on the occasion of his death. The Rev. Wal-
ter King, of Norwich, Connecticut, in the course of an
eloquent eulogy delivered in that city on January 5,
1800, said in part :
By one mighty effort of manly resolution we were born anew,
and declared our independence. Now commenced the bloody
contest of everything we held dear. The same Almighty Being
by whose guidance we were hitherto conducted beheld us in com-
passion and saw what we needed— a pilot, a leader in the peril-
ous enterprise we had undertaken. He called for Washington,
already prepared, anointed him as his servant with regal dig-
nity, and put into his hands the control of all our defensive
operations.
But here admiration suppresses utterance. Your own minds
must fill out the active character of the man. A description of
the warlike skill, the profound wisdom, the prudence, the heroism
and integrity which he displayed in the character of commander-
in-chief would suffer materially in hands like mine. But this I
may say: the eyes of all our American Israel were placed upon
him as their savior, under the direction of Heaven, and they were
not disappointed.
The Rev. Nathan Strong, pastor of the North Presby-
terian Church in Hartford, spoke as follows on Decem-
ber 27, 1799 :
He was as much the angel of peace as of war, as much respected,
as deeply reverenced in the political cabinet for a luminous cool-
ness of disposition, whereby party jealousy became enlightened
and ashamed of itself, as he was for a coolness of command in
the dreadful moment when empires hung suspended on the fat-e of
battle. His opinions became the opinions of the public body, and
every man was pleased with himself when he found he thought
like Washington.
358 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
Under the auspices of this great warrior, who was formed by
the providence of God to defend his country, the war was ended
and America ranked among the nations. He who might have
been a monarch returned to his own Vernon, unclothed of all au-
thority, to enjoy the bliss of being a free private citizen. This
was a strange sight, and gave a new' triumph to human virtue—
a triumph that hath never been exceeded in the history of the
world, except it was by his second recess, which was from the
Presidency of the United States.
And on the day preceding, December 26, 1799, in the
course of his memorable funeral oration before both
houses of Congress, Major-General Lee, then a repre-
sentative from the State of Virginia, gave utterance to
the noble sentiment, as forceful to-day as in those early
days of our national life :
To the horrid din of battle sweet peace succeeded, and oitr vir-
tuous chief, mindful only of the common good, in a moment tempt-
ing personal aggrandizement, hushed the discontent of growing
sedition, and, surrendering his power into the hands from which
he had received it, converted his sword into a plowshare, teaching
an admiring world that to be truly great you must be truly good.
While strong with his own generation, he is even
stronger in the judgment of the generations which have
followed. After a lapse of a century he is better appreci-
ated, more perfectly understood, more thoroughly ven-
erated and loved than when he lived. He remains an
ever-increasing influence for good in every part and
sphere of action of the republic. He is recognized as
not only the most far-sighted statesman of his genera-
tion, but as having had almost prophetic vision. He
built not alone for his own time, but for the great future,
and pointed the rightful solution of many of the problems
which were to arise in the years to come.
OF WILLIAM McKIXLEY. 359
John Adams, the immediate successor of Washington,
said of him in an address to the Senate on the 23d of
December, 1799 :
For himself, he had lived enough to life and to glory. For
his fellow-citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he
would have been immortal. . . . His example is now complete,
and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and
men, not only in the present age, but in future generations, as
long as our history shall be read.
The nation needs at this moment the help of his wise
example. In dealing with our vast responsibilities we
turn to him. We invoke the counsel of his life and
character and courage. We summon his precepts that
we may keep [his pledges to maintain justice and law,
education and morality, and civil and religious liberty
in every part of oui* country, the new as well as the old.
CCXIV.
Reply to Speech op Delegates from National Board
OF Trade, Executive Ma^^sion, January 24, 1900.
Upon the occasion of the call of the members of the
National Board of Trade upon President McKinley,
January 24, 1900, ex-Governor Stauard, speaking in
behalf of the board, delivered quite an extended address
to the President, in which he outlined the desires and
purposes of the board, concluding in these words :
" We congratulate you, Mr. President, upon the pros-
perity of the country and the success of your adminis-
tration."
360 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
In replying tlie President said :
I cannot conceal the pleasure and honor I feel in this
call on the part of the National Board of Trade, rep-
resenting as it does the large and varied and important
interests of our country. I rejoice with you upon our
prosperity, and I trust that it may be long continued to
the American people. Its continuance will very much de-
pend upon the wisdom and conservatism of the business
men of the United States. Can we not rely upon them
to help us solve the great and momentous problems to
which your chairman has referred, for the highest in-
terest of the American people, and for the greatest
good of those who have come within our jurisdiction
and care ?
ccxv.
Speech at Banquet of the Loyal Legion, Wash-
ington, February 22, 1900.
Comrades and Friends :
I had no thought, in meeting with you to-night, to
interrupt the interesting program already arranged for
the evening's entertainment, and I rise now only to
express to you my hearty ajjpreciation of the welcome
which you have given me, and the pleasure it affords
me to meet once more with the veterans of '61. I
recall that it was this commandery, the commandery of
the District of Columbia, that installed me years ago a
companion in your organization. I have come to-night
to pay my respects to my comrades of the Civil War,
and to my companions in times of peace. The Union
for which you fought has been saved by the valor, hero-
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 361
ism, and sacrifice of yourselves and your comrades.
We are together now, and the national sentiment is
stronger, firmer, and higher than it ever was before.
[Applause.]
There has been within the past two years a reunion
of all the people around the holy altar of country, newly
sanctified by common sacrifice. The followers of Grant
and of Lee have fought under the same colors and have
fallen for the same cause, and let us, comrades of the
Loyal Legion, on this the anniversary of the birth of
the Father of his Country, resolve, in the language of
Lincoln, to dedicate ourselves anew to the imperishable
cause which he advanced so far upon its way ; and as
Lincoln said at Gettysburg, let us firmly resolve that those
who gave their lives shall not have died in vain ; that the
nation for which they shed their blood shall not perish
from the earth. [Great applause.]
CCXVI.
Speech at Banquet of the Ohio Society of New
York, New York, ]\LiRCH 3, 1900.
3Ir. Toasfmaster and Gentlemen :
I appreciate your welcome, and thank you for this
renewed expression of your friendship and good will.
It is proper that I should say that the Managing Board
of the Ohio Society has kept the promise made to me
some months ago, that I would not be expected or
required to speak at this banquet ; and because of that
promise I have made some preparation. [Laughter
and applause.] I shall not be guilty of reflecting on
3G2 SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
their good faith, or breaking my own resolution not to
speak, if I indulge in some observations while expressing
in the briefest manner the pleasure which I have in
greeting my old friends of the Ohio colony in New York.
[Applause.] There is a bond of close fellowship which
unites Ohio people. Whithersoever they journey or
wherever they dwell, they cherish the tenderest mem-
ories of their mother State, and she in turn never fails
of affectionate interest in her widely scattered children.
The statement which has so often been made is not
far from the truth, '' Once an Ohioan always an Ohioan."
[Applause.] It has been some years since I was your
guest. Much has happened in the meantime. We have
had our blessings and our burdens, and still have both.
[Laughter.] We will soon have legislative assurance of
the continuance of the gold standard [great applause]
with which we measure our exchanges, and we have the
open door in the far East through which to market our
[products. [Continued applause.] We are neither in \
alliance nor antagonism nor entanglement with any |
foreign power [great and long-continued applause], but '
on terms of amity and cordiality with all. [Applause.]
We buy from all of them and sell to all of them, and
in the last two years our sales have exceeded our pur-
chases by over one billion dollars. [Applause.] Mar-
kets have been increased and mortgages have been
reduced. [Laughter and applause.] Interest has faUen
and the wages of labor have advanced. [Applause.]
Our public debt is diminishing and our surplus in the
Treasury holds its own. It is no exaggeration to say
that the country is well-to-do. Its people for the most
part are happy and contented. They have good times
at home and are on good terms with the nations of the
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 363
■world. There are, unfortunatel}^, those among us, few
in number, I am sure, and none in the Ohio Society
[laughter], who seem to thrive best under bad times
[laughter], and who, when good times overtake them in
the United States, feel constrained to put us on bad
terms with the rest of mankind. [Laughter.] With
them I have no sympathy. I would rather give expres-
sion in this presence to what I believe to be the nobler
and almost universal sentiment of my countrymen, in
the wish not only for peace and prosperity here, but for
peace and prosperity to all the nations and peoples of
the earth. [Great applause.] After thirty-three years
of unbroken peace came an unavoidable war. Happily
the conclusion was quickly reached, without a suspicion
of unworthy motive or practice or purpose on our part,
and with fadeless honor to our arms. [Applause.] I
cannot forget the quick response of the people to the
country's need, and the quarter of a million men who
freely offered their lives. to their country's service. It
was an impressive spectacle of national strength. It
demonstrated om* mighty reserve power, and taught us
that large standing armies are unnecessary when every
citizen is a "minute man," ready to join the ranks in
his country's defense. [Great applause.]
Out of these recent events have come to the United
States grave trials and responsibilities. As it was the
nation's war, so are its results the nation's problem.
[Applause.] Its solution rests upon us all. It is too
serious to stifle. It is too earnest for repose. No
phrase or catchword can conceal the sacred obligation
it involves. No iise of epithets, no aspersion of motives
by those who differ will contribute to that sober judg-
ment so essential to right conclusions. [Applause.]
364: SPEECHES AND ADDEESSES
No political outcry can abrogate our treaty of peace
with Spain, or absolve us from its solemn engagements.
[Long-continued applause.] It is the people's ques-
tion, and will be until its determination is written out
in their conscientious and enlightened judgment. We
must choose between manly doing and base desertion.
[Great applause.] It will never be the latter. [Con-
tinued applause.] It must be soberly settled in justice
and good conscience, and it will be. Righteousness,
which exalteth a nation, must control in its solution.
No great emergency has arisen in this nation's history
and progress which has not been met by the sovereign
people with high capacity, with ample strength, and
with unflinching fidelity to every public and honorable
obligation. Partizanship can hold few of us against
solemn public duty. We have seen this so often
demonstrated in the past as to mark unerringly what
it will be in the future. The national sentiment and
the national conscience were never stronger or higher
than now. [Applause.] Within two years there has
been a reunion of the people around the holy altar con-
secrated to country and newly sanctified bycommon sacri-
fices. [Great applause.] The followers of Grant and
Lee have fought under the same flag and fallen for the
same faith. [Continued great applause.] Party lines
have loosened and the ties of union have been strength-
ened. [Applause.] Sectionalism has disappeared and
fraternity and union have been rooted in the hearts of
the American people. Political passion has altogether
subsided, and patriotism glows with inextinguishable
fervor in every home of the land. [Applause.] The
flag— our flag— has been sustained on distant seas and
islands by the men of all parties and sections and creeds
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 365
and races aud nationalities, and its stars are only those
of radiant hope to the remote peoples over whom it
floats. [Great applause.] —
There can be no imperialism. Those who fear it are
against it. Those who have faith in the repubhc are ^
against it. [Applanse.] So that there is universal ab- -^
horrence for it and unanimous opposition to it. [En-
thusiastic applause.] Our only difference is that those
who do not agree with us have no confidence in the
virtue or capacity or high purpose or good faith of this
free people as a civilizing agency, while we believe that
the century of free government which the American
people have enjoyed has not rendered them irresolute
and faitliless, but has fitted them for the great task of
lifting up and assisting to better conditions and larger
liberty those distant peoples who, through the issue of
battle, have become our wards. [Great applause.] Let
us fear not ! There is no occasion for faint hearts, no
excuse for regrets. Nations do not grow in strength,
and the cause of liberty and law is not advanced, by the
doing of easy things. [Applause.] The harder the task
the greater will be the result, the benefit, and the honor.
To doubt our power to accomplish it is to lose faith in
the soundness and strength of our popular institutions.
[Applause.]
The liberators wiU never become the oppressors. A
self-governed people will never permit despotism in any
government which they foster and defend. [Great ap- ,
plause.]
Gentlemen, we have the new care and cannot shift it.
And, breaking up the camp of ease and isolation, let us
bravely and hopefully and soberly continue the march
of faithful service, and falter not until the work is done.
366 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
[Great applause.] It is not possible that seventy-five
millions of American freemen are unable to establish
liberty and justice and good government in our new
possessions. [Continued applause.] The burden is our
opportunity. The opportunity is greater than the bur-
den. [Applause.] May God give us strength to bear
the one, and wisdom so to embrace the other that we
may carry to our new acquisitions the guaranties of
" life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness " ! [Enthu-
siastic and long-continued applause.]
CCXVII.
Address at the Ecumenical Conference on Foreign
Missions, New York, April 21, 1900.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Ecumenical Conference,
Ladies and Gentlemen :
Words of welcome are unnecessary here. This rep-
resentative gathering, this earnest and sympathetic
assemblage, presided over by one of America's most
illustrious statesmen and citizens, General Harrison
[great applause], is your true and best welcome. It
attests the profound pleasure and satisfaction which all
of us feel that the representatives of more than two
hundred societies engaged in the work of foreign mis-
sions in every part of the globe are guests within our
gates. To them are extended the hospitality of our
homes and the devotion of our hearts [enthusiastic ap-
plause], in acknowledgment and encouragement of their
faithfulness and unselfishness in a great movement for
uplifting the races of men, teaching them the truth of
the common fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of
OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 367
man, and showing that, if we are not our brothers'
keepers, we can be our brothers' helpers. [Appkxuse.]
I am glad of the opportunity to offer without stint my
tribute of respect to the missionary effort which has
wi'ought such wonderful triumphs for civilization. The
story of the Christian missions is one of thi'illing inter-
est and marvelous results. The sacrifices of the mis-
sionaries for their fellow-men constitute one of the most
glorious pages of the world's history. [Great applause.]
The missionary, of whatever church or ecclesiastical
body, who devotes his life to the service of the Master
and of man, carrying the torch of truth and enlighten-
ment, deserves the gratitude and homage of mankind.
[Renewed applause.] The noble, self-effacing, willing
ministers of peace and good will should be classed with
the world's heroes. Wielding the sword of the Spirit,
they have conquered ignorance and prejudice. They
have been the pioneers of civilization. They have illu-
mined the darkness of idolatry and superstition with the
light of intelligence and truth. They have been messen-
gers of righteousness and love. They have braved dis-
ease and danger and death, and in their exile have suf-
fered unspeakable hardships, but their noble spirits
have never wavered. They count their labor no sacri-
fice. "Away with the word in such a view and with
such a thought!" says David Livingstone: ''it is em-
phatically no sacrifice; say, rather, it is a privilege."
They furnish us examples of forbearance and fortitude,
of patience and unyielding purpose, and of a spirit which
triumphs, not by the force of might, but by the majesty
of right. They are placing in the hands of their brothers,
less fortunate than themselves, the keys which unlock
the treasures of knowledge and open the mind to noble
368 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES
aspirations for better conditions. Education is one of
the indispensable steps of mission enterprise, and in some
form must precede all successful work.
The labors of missionaries, always difficult and trying,
are no longer so perilous as in former times. In some
quarters indifference and opposition have given place to
aid and cooperation. A hundred years ago many of the
fields were closed to missionary effort. Now almost
everywhere is the open door, and only the map of the
world marks the extent of their thought and action.
Who can estimate their value to the progress of the
nations ? Their contribution to the onward and upward
march of humanity is beyond all calculation. They
have inculcated industry and taught the various trades.
They have promoted concord and amity and brought
nations closer together. They have made men better.
They have increased the regard for home, have strength-
ened the sacred ties of family, have made the community
well-ordered, and their work has been a potent influence
in the development of law and the establishment of
government.
May this great meeting rekindle the spirit of mis-
sionary ardor and enthusiasm to " go teach all nations " ;
may the field never lack '' a succession of heralds who
shall carry on the task— the continuous proclamation of
His gospel to the end of time"! [Long-continued
applause.]
OF WILLIAM Mckinley. 369
CCXVIII.
Speech at Antietajm Battle-Field, Maryland,
May 30, 1900.
Mr. Chairman and my Fellow- Citizens:
I appear only for a moment that I may make acknow-
ledgment of your courteous greeting and express in a
single word my sympathy with the patriotic occasion
for which we have assembled to-day.
In this presence and on this memorable field I am
glad to meet the followers of Lee and Jackson and
Longstreet and Johnston with the followers of Grant and
McClellan and Sherman and Sheridan, greeting each
other, not with arms in their hands or malice in their
souls, but with affection and respect for each other in
their hearts. [Applause.] Standing here to-day, one
reflection only has crowded my mind— the difference be-
tween this scene and that of thirty-eight years ago.
Then the men who wore the blue and the men who wore
the gray greeted each other with shot and shell, and
visited death upon their respective ranks. We meet,
after these intervening years, as friends, with a common
sentiment,— that of loyalty to the government of the
United States, love for our flag and our free institutions,
—and determined, men of the North and men of the
South, to make any sacrifice for the honor and per-
petuity of the American nation. [Great applause.]
My countrymen, I am glad, and you are glad also, of
that famous meeting between Grant and Lee at Appo-
mattox Court-House. I am glad we were kept together
24
370 SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES.
—are n't you? [cries of ''Yes ! "]— glad that the Union
was saved by the honorable terms made between Grant
and Lee under the famous apple-tree ; and there is one
glorious fact that must be gratifying to all of us—
American soldiers never surrendered but to Americans !
[Enthusiastic applause.]
The past can never be undone. The new day brings
its shining sun to light our duty now. I am glad to
preside over a nation of nearly eighty million people,
more united than they have ever been since the forma-
tion of the Federal Union. [Applause.] I account it a
great honor to participate on this occasion with the State
of Maryland in its tribute to the valor and heroism and
sacrifices of the Confederate and Union armies. The
valor of the one or the other, the valor of both, is the
common heritage of us all. The achievements of that
war, every one of them, are just as much the inheritance
of those who failed as those who prevailed ; and when
we went to war two years ago the men of the South and
the men of the North vied with each other in showing
their devotion to the United States. [Applause.] The
followers of the Confederate generals with the followers
of the Federal generals fought side by side in Cuba, in
Porto Rico, and in the Philippines, and together in those
far-ofe islands are standing to-day fighting and dying
for the flag they love, the flag that represents more than
any other banner in the world the best hopes and aspira-
tions of mankind. [Great and long-continued applause.]
INDEX
INDEX.
Aberdeen, South Dakota, 289, 294, 298.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 284.
Ackley, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 302.
Adams, John, 73, 195.
Remarks of, on death of Washington,
359.
Adams, Massachusetts.
Speech at, Oct. 1, '97, 50.
Speech at, June 24, '99, 207.
Speech at, June 26, '99, 208.
Administration, The.
Has no aim but a public aim ; no pur-
pose but a good one, 232.
Agricultural Colleges.
Wisdom of provision for, 93.
Agriculture.
JHas languished under depression, 7.
Amount of products exported, 98.
Aguinaldo, 296.
Contention of, 281.
Aitkin, Minnesota.
Remarks at, Oct. 13, '99, 274.
Akron, Ohio.
Speech at, Sept. 4, '97, 46.
Alabama, 167, 170, 266, 297.
Loyal to flag and devoted to American
name and houor, 171.
Alaska, 213, 330.
Acquisition of, 267.
Acquisition of, fiercely resisted, 267.
Minority report on bill for purchase
of, 267.
Alger, RusssU A., 44.
Allison, W. B., 86, 305.
American Medical Association, Phila-
delphia.
Remarks to, 22.
American Republics.
Products and advancement of, 25.
Ames, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 92.
Andrew, John A., 196.
Antietam battle-fleld, Maryland.
Speech at. May 30, 1900, 369.
Appomattox Conrt-Honse, 201, 202, 223.
230, 253, 259, 2S2, 353, 354, 369.
Greatest Union meeting ever held
beneath the flag, 201.
Arbitration.
True method of settling differences, 12.
Treaty with Great Britain sliould be
ratified, 13.
(See International Peace Conference.)
Areola, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 124.
Arizona, 260.
Al-ray, 96,' 97, 103, 116, 135, 139, 144, 14.5,
148, 149, 1.52, 154, 155, 160, 161, 171, 179,
200, 203, 214, 215, 224, 225, 226, 246, 293,
296, 309, 318, 324, 336, 343, 352.
In Civil War, 38, 39, 43.
Services mentioned, 84, 85.
Promptness of muster for Spanish
War, 92, 125.
Standing, large, not required, 172, 270,
363.
Standing, should be large enough
to do all work required during peace,
172.
Army of the Tennessee.
Speech at reunion, Oct. 10, '99, 247.
Ashland, Virginia.
Remarks at, Oct. 31, '99, 348.
Atlanta, Georgia.
Speech before legislature in joint as-
sembly. State Capitol, Dec. 14, '98, 158.
Speech at Auditorium, Dec. 15, '98, 159.
First to celebrate signing of treaty of
peace with Spain, 160.
Speech at banquet, Dec. 16, 98, 164.
Atlanta, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 142.
Augusta, Georgia.
Speech at, Dec. 19, '98, 181.
Austria-Hungary, 78, 79.
Baldwin, George E., 220.
Baldwin Locomotive Works, 200.
26
373
V
374
INDEX.
Bancroft, George.
His view of work of George Washing-
ton, 856.
Bates, John C, 180.
Battle Creek, Michigan.
Remarks at, Oct. 17, '99, 334.
BuUe Plaine, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 89.
Bimetallism.
International, will endeavor to se-
cure, 4.
Black, Samuel L., 151.
Blaine, James G.
First convention of American repub-
lics due to, 28.
Blue, The, and The Gray.
Reunion of, Evans ville, Ind., 257.
Boer War.
Response to committee presenting pe-
tition for mediation of the United
States between Great Britain and the
Boers, Oct. 26, '99, 347.
Boone, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 94.
Boston, Massachusetts.
Speech at Home Market Club dinner,
Peb. 16, '99, 185.
Speech at G. A. R. encampment, Feb.
17, '99, 193.
Speech to the General Court, Feb.
17, '99, 195.
Speech at Commercial Club recep-
tion, Feb. 17, '99, 197.
Brainerd, Minnesota.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '99, 275.
Brumby, Thomas M., 254.
Bryant, William Cullen.
Quotation from, 176.
Buffalo, New York, 223.
Remarks from balcony of hotel, Aug.
24, '97, 37.
Speech at banquet of Ellicott Club,
Aug. 24, '97, 38.
Speech at G. A. B. camp-fire, Asbury
Church, Aug. 24, '97, 40.
Speech at G. A. R. camp-fire, Dela-
ware Avenue M. E. Chui'ch, Aug. 24,
'97, 41.
Bunker Hill, 162.
Bureau of American Republics, 28.
Bushnell, Illinois.
Remarks at, Oct. 6, '99, 228.
Byron, Lord.
Quotation from, 153.
Caldwell, Harry H.
Caldwell, James K,
California.
Cession of, 266.
California Artillery
Canibon, Jules, 79.
Canada, 243, 253.
Candler, Allen D., 159
226.
324.
215.
Cannon, Joseph G., 130, 257, 258.
Canton, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 6, '99, 228.
Canton, Ohio, 229, 351.
Speech upon departure, March 1, '97, 1.
Remarks at, Sept. 4, '97, 46.
Speech to Commercial Travelers' As-
sociation and employees of Dueber
Heights, Nov. 1, '97, 55.
Remarks at, Aug. 30, '99, 220.
Speech at, Aug. 30, '99, 221.
Carnegie, Andrew, 5'r.
Carroll, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 96.
Cavite, 163.
Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 304.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 86.
Centennial Exposition of 1876, 26.
Cervera, Pascual, 350.
Chariton, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 113.
Chicago, Illinois.
Speech at Auditorium, Oct. 18, '93, ISi.
Remarks to gathering in front of
Union League Club, Oct. 19, '98, 132.
Speech at banquet. Auditorium, Oct.
19, '98, 133.
Speech at First Regiment Armory be-
fore Allied Organizations of Railroad
Employees, Oct. 20, '98, 136.
Remarks to Chicago Committee on
International Arbitration, Oct. 20, '98,
138.
Remarks at Marquette Club banquet,
Oct. 7, '99, 241.
Remarks at children's exercises. Au-
ditorium, Oct. 8, '99, 242.
Remarks at Quinn Chapel, Oct. 8, '99,
242.
Speech at Citizens' banquet, Oct. 9,
'99, 243.
Sjieech at the reunion of the Army
of the Tennessee, Oct. 10, '99, 247.
Speech to Bricklayers and Stone-Ma-
sons' Union, Oct. 10, '99, 248.
Speech at banquet of Commercial Club,
Oct. 10, '99, 250.
Chief Justice, The, 15.
Choate, Charles F., 197.
Choate, Rufiis, 195.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Remarks in Chamber of Commerce,
Oct. 29, '97, 51.
Remarks at dinner of Commercial
Club, Oct. 30, '97, 52.
Citizen.
Vigilance of, is safety of republic,
336.
Citizenship, 255.
Highest and best should be cultivated,
42.
Destiny of our government rests upon
it, 42.
INDEX.
375
W ^53*^^*^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ""'^ responsi-
Careless and indifferent, great enemy
ot free government, 53.
Always improved by education, 93.
i-ducated, is hope of country, 93.
Indifferent, is always unfortunate, 95
trood, necessary to material advance-
ment, 183.
Civilization.
No achievements worth having which
do not advance, 87.
Civil Service.
Reforms must go on, 10.
Spirit of law will be carried out, 10.
la )nf ',H' ^^' 2^' ^°' ^1> *3. 48, 50, 66,
89 108, 116, ISO, 155, 194, 224, 230, 246
257, 276, 289, 294, 310, 324, 335, 353.
Beneficial results of, 42.
Debt, 76.
Enlistment of students, 93.
Reviewof veterans onboth sides of IS-J
Lincoln's object in, not to free slaves"
but to save the Union, 134, 294 '
Every soldier's grave made during, is
tribute toAmerican valor, 159
Dififerences of, long ago settled by the
arbitrament of arms, 159.
Veterans of, 194, 206, 226, 248 259
272, 2S3, 285, 328, 360. ' '
Clay, Henry, 181.
Cleveland, Ohio, 342.
Remarks at the Hollenden, Oct. 18,
yy, oo7.
Cliff Haven, New York.
Speech at CathoUc Summer School
Aug. 15, '99, 209. '
Clinton, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 128.
Clinton, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 85.
Clintons, The, 73.
College Ciirner, Indiana.
Remarks at, Oct. 21, '98, 148.
Colorado, 2G4, 266.
Columbia, South Carolina.
Speech at, Dec. 19, '98, 183.
Columbus, Ohio.
Speech at State fair, Sept. 3, '97 44
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 151. ' "
Commerce, 362.
International, advance of, 24
Good wiU precedes good trade, 25.
Advantages of its promotion, 54
Is teacher and pacificator, 54.
Commercial Club, Boston.
Speech at reception, Feb. 17, '99, 197.
Confederacy.
Veterans of, 181.
Confederate soldiers.
North should share with South in care
of graves of, 159.
Congress, 136, 226, 346.
Action of, needed to restore prosper-
ity, 8.
Should help restore merchant ma-
rine, 11.
Need for extraordinary session of, 13.
Extraordinary session of, will be con-
vened March 15, '97, 14.
Provision regarding Washington's in-
auguration, 72.
Must provide legislation to meet our
responsibilities, 135.
Is servant of the people, 269.
Connecticut, 184, 265.
Connersville, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 147
Constitution, The.
Spirit of, has been steadUy enforced,
Converse, J. H., 200.
Cooper, Henry A., 313.
Cornell University, 225.
Corning, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 110.
ComwaUis, surrender of, at Yorktown,
Cotton, Charles S., 324.
Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 106.
Cousins, Robert G., 89
Crane, W. ilui-ray, 185.
Credit.
Of government must be preserved, 4
i^est secured through adequate inl
come, 0. 1 u
National, better than ever before 85
91, 111, 120, 127, 129, 314. ' '
Has ever been upheld, 245
Creston, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 111
oo-'o^,1' }~^' 1^^' 163, 186, 212, 242,-
295, 317, 319, 335, 370. " , '
A disturbing question for more than
half a century, II5.
Causes of trouble to the United States
now removed, 115.
Cullom, Shelby M., 126.
Currency, 63.
Should continue under supervision of
government, 3.
Abundant and unquestioned, 85.
Gushing, William B., 104.
Dahle, Herman B., 316.
Dahlgren, John A., 155
Danville, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '99, 257
Debt.
Of nation shall not be scaled down
through a legal technicality, 63.
Decatur, niinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 125.
Decatur, Stephen, 104.
Declaration of Independence, 243, 354.
De Kalb, Illinois.
Remarks at, Oct. 11, '98, 84.
376
INDEX.
Delaware, 265, 268.
Delaware Avenue Church, Buffalo, 41.
Denison, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 97.
Destiny, 134.
Detroit City, Minnesota.
Remarks at, Oct. 13, '99, 278.
Dewey, George. 107, 127, 139, 156, 174,
187, 203, 212, 226, 287, 290, 295, 316, 333,
339, 343.
Kemarks Tipon occasion of presenta-
tion of sword to, 225.
Dewitt, Iowa.
Remarks at, Oct. 11, '98, 86.
District of Columbia, 268, 330.
Dotige, Grenville M., 247.
Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 314.
Dolliver, J. P., 97.
"Don't cheer, the poor fellows are dy-
ing," 89.
" Don't fire, the flag has gone down," 89.
Douglas, Stephen A., 130, 233-235, 238.
Opposed to Lincoln in politics ; united
with him for the Union, 130.
View.'j of, on expansion, 320.
Dubuque, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 310.
Duluth, Jlinnesota.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '99, 272.
Dupont, Samuel F., 16, 155.
Duty.
Determines destiny, 134.
Difficulties attending performance of,
134.
Performance of, always honorable, 134.
Alone should prescribe the boundary
of our responsibilities and scope of
our undertakings, 135.
Desertion of, not an American habit,
196.
Responsibilities born of, can never be
repudiated, 227.
Unperformed is dishonor, 227.
Is best policy, 325.
Responsiliility born of, cannot be
evaded with honor, 325.
Egan, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 293.
Eighth Army-Corps, 262, 280, 284.
Privilege of muster out when treaty
was ratified declined, 212.
Commendation of service of, 213.
Eighth Ohio Regiment, 219.
Speech to, 221.
El Caney, 107, 116, 127, 153, 178, 198, 202,
246.
Elk Point, South Dakota.
Remarks at, Oct. 14, '99, 300.
Ellicott Club, Buffalo.
Speech at banquet, Aug. 24, '97, 38.
Emancipation Proclamation, 201, 232,
281, 294.
Equality.
Of rights must prevail, 9.
Of American citizens, 42.
Evanston, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 17, '99, 331.
Evansville, Indiana, 256.
Speech at fair grounds, Oct. 11, '99, 253.
Remarks from train, Oct. 11, '99, 255.
Everett, Edward, 195.
Executive, The, 136, 191.
Expansion, 163, 174, 181, 188, 220, 244,
264, 287, 302, 318, 319, 336.
Territorial, not alone necessary to
national advancement, 135.
Views of Stephen A. Douglas, 320.
Exports, 303, 316, 323.
Greater than ever before, 98, 124.
Amount of, in 1898, 98.
Greater than imports, 124.
Three fourths of, come from fields
and farms of the United States, 124.
Have made American balances satis-
factory, 198.
Manufactuied, greater than imports,
240.
Excess of, over imports in 1898 and
1899, 240.
Excess of, over imports, 250, 251, 362.
Expositions.
Excellent results of, 101.
E
East Liverpool, Ohio,
Speech at, Aug. 28, '99, 218.
Speech at, Aug. 29, '99, 219.
Ecumenical Conference, New York, 366.
Education, 238, 245, 273, 275, 286, 313,
314, 331.
Free, spread of, should be encouraged,
10.
Extension of, since Revolution, 73.
Liberal, value of, 74.
Self-denial and personal struggle ne-
cessary to acquirement of, 74.
Best equipment, 249.
An indispensable step of mission en-
terprise, 368.
Fairbanks, Charles W., 144.
Fargo, North Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '99, 279.
Farragut, David G., 16, 104, 224.
Fifty-first Iowa Regiment, U. S. V., 215,
304, 311.
Finance, 256.
System needs revision, 2.
Commission to revise coinage, bank-
ing, and currency laws suggested, 3.
Money should be put on enduring
basis, 3.
Our system should be strengthened
and freed from doubt, 55.
More definite legislation advised, 63.
Intelligent discussion of, beneficial, 64.
INDEX.
377
Plank of St. Louis platform still com-
manding, 65.
Plank of St. Louis platform stateil, 65.
American name yet untarnished, 76.
Conditions never better than now, 111.
First California Regiment, U. S. V., nb.
First Colorado Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
First District of Columbia Regiment,
U. S. V. 6 '
Commendation of, 157.
First Idaho Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
First Illinois Regiment, U. S. V.
Congratulations to, 138.
First Montana Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
First Nebraska Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
First North Dakota Regiment, U. S. V.,
215, 280, 283.
First South Dakota Regiment. U. S. V.,
215, 284, 285, 289, 291, 292, 293, 294, 298.
Privilege of muster out upon ratifica-
tion of treaty of peace declined, 290.
First Tennessee Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
Gallantry of, at Cebn, 227, 270.
First Washington Regiment, U. S. V.,
215.
First Wyoming Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
Fisher, Miircus A., 221.
Fitzgerald, Rt. Rev. James N., 210.
Flag, the, 38, 43, 50, 99, 132, 160, 161,
206, 209, 210, 218, 223, 227, 229, 230,
240, 241, 242, 245, 247, 261, 271, 273,
276, 277, 281, 285, 287, 288, 289, 291,
296, 297, 303, 304, 306, 308, 309, 310,
312, 315, 317, 319, 321, 322, 323, 325,
327, 328, 331, 332, 333, 335, 337, 338,
340, 341, 343, 352, 367, 364.
Its followers, 38.
Loved in every State in the Union, 106.
Inspires patriotism, 107.
Followed by trade, 109.
Always a symbol of humanity and
civilization, 114.
Love of, enshrined in all hearts, 121.
Symbol of patriotism, 123.
Duty of people to stand by, 123.
Now floats over Hawaii, 129, 153.
Never so dear to us as now, 139, 149.
Never floated over so many places as
now, 139, 149.
Never went down in defeat, never
was raised in dishonor, 145.
Means more now than ever before.
145.
Floats triumphantly over Porto Rico.
1.53.
American principles go with, 192.
Has lost none of its luster in Spanish
War, 203.
Does not change in character wher-
ever it floats, 232.
Is never raised anywhere for oppres-
sion, 278.
Floats for liberty wherever it is
raised, 278, 282.
Significance of, 305.
Florida.
Cession of, 266.
Foreign missions, 366-368.
Foreign policy.
Outlined, 11, 12.
Foreign relations mentioned, 262, 313,
362.
Fourth Ohio Regiment, U. S. V.
Service of, in Porto Rico, 153.
France, 78, 79.
Francis, David R., 119.
Franklin, Benjamin, 67.
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Remarks at, Oct. 31, '99, 348.
Freedom.
Cause of, advanced by American na-
tional life, 8.
Frost, Alfred S., 284.
Gadsden Purchase, 2C6.
Galena, Illinois, 201.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 312.
Galesburg, Illinois, 238.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 116.
Address at, Oct. 7, '99, 232.
Gallatin, Albert, 76.
Geneva, Switzerland, 351.
Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical
College.
Advice to students of, 177.
Germany, 78, 79.
Gettysburg, 162, 361.
Gibbons, George P., 248.
Oilman, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 129.
Glasgow, Scotland, 182.
Glenwood, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 107.
Gold, 240, 314, 316.
Reserve, 3, 345.
Parity between, and silver, 4.
Composed four fifths of Treasury bal-
ance, Oct. 1, '98, 120.
Balance, amount of, 292.
Gold standard, 199, 303, 362.
Government.
Popular, strength and spirit of, un-
doubted, 99.
Government, The, 247, 259, 260, 307, 315.
Credit must be preserved, 4.
Economy in. 4.
Revenue should exceed expendi-
tures, 5.
Credit best secured through adequate
income, 6.
All citizens equally responsible for its
progi-ess and preservation, 34.
Restricted in its power to promote
industry, 62.
Can aid commerce, but not create it,
62.
Debt of gi-atitude to American women.
378
INDEX.
Safe in hands of people, 99.
Principles on which founded must he
adhered to in settlement of present
problems, 134.
llests upon intelligence, morality, and
patriotism of the people, 183.
Purpose of, respecting Philippines
stated, 190, 212.
Loyalty to, is our national creed, 209.
Rests in hearts and consciences of the
people, 273.
Emanates from the people, 275.
Is worthy of our best love and affec-
tion, 300.
Grady, Henry W., 1C4.
Grand Army of the Republic, 37, 40, 41,
44, 92, 193, 202, 222, 223, 224, 230, 283,
289.
Its extension to include Spanish War
veterans suggested, 92, 194.
Grant, U. S., 16-18, 37, 39, 40, 104, 130,
165, 194, 201, 202, 203, 224, 230, 248,
253, 282, 312, 353, 361, 364, 369, 370.
Cuban revolution during administra-
tion of, 115.
Rapid growth of his fame, 201.
His last public appearance, 202.
His achievements, 202.
Grant Monument, New York.
Address at dedication, 16.
Gray, James, 262.
Great Britain, 12, 13, 78, 79.
Greenbacks.
No longer drain Treasury of gold, 315.
Greene, Nathaniel, 104.
Greenland, 268.
Guam, 186, 268.
Guantanamo, 107, 153, 156.
Hamilton, Alexander, 73, 76.
Hamilton, Edward L., 334.
Hamilton, Ohio.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 149.
Hampton Institute, "Virginia, 168.
Hancock, John, 73.
Hancock, W. S., 16, 194.
Hansbrough, H. C., 279.
Harrison, Benjamin, 145, 366.
Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Speech at, "May 20, '99, 204.
Harvard, Tlie, 324.
Harvard University, 197, 198.
Haskell, Colonel, 152.
Hastings, Iowa.
Remarks at, Oct. 13, '98, 109.
Havana, 110, 131, 295.
Hawaii, 268, 287, 320.
Annexation of, 114, 115, 129.
Hawkins, Alexander L., 212.
Hay, John.
Quotation from, 192.
Hayes, Rutherford B., 42.
HemphiU, W. A., 159.
Henderson, T>. B., 303.
Hendricks, Thomas A., 115.
Hengelmiiller von llengerv4r, Ladis-
laus, 79.
Hoar, George F., 195.
Hobson, Mrs., 171.
Hobson, Richmond P., 116, 156, 171.
Holleben, Herr von, 79.
Home, 255, 263, 314, 321, 322, 326.
Our free institutions founded upon
its virtue, 36.
Good citizenship comes from its pu-
rity, 36.
Our first concern, 47.
Safety, pennanence, and virtue of the
republic rest upon it, 49.
Origin of best sentiments, 91.
Purity of, foundation of American
government, 92.
Sourceof thepowerof the republic, 137.
Is foundation of good individual life
and good government, 177.
Is training-school for author, soldier,
and statesman, 206.
Love of, corner-stone of strength and
safety, 242.
Is the ideal government, 275.
Is school-house for education in duties
of citizenship, 275.
Source of virtue and integrity of gov-
ernment, 275.
Is hope of our republic, 275.
Home Market Club, Boston, 185.
Hongkong, 295.
Hoopestown, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '99, 258.
House of Representatives, 72, 346.
Howell, Clarke, 164.
Hull, Isaac, 104.
Humanity.
Substantial gain to, is real honor of
victory, 87.
Huron, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 288.
Illinois, 99, 126, 238, 260, 268.
Population now greater than that of
thirteen original colonies, 128.
Always potential in national councils,
130.
Response of, to call for volunteers, 130.
Immigration.
(See Naturalization.)
Imperialism, 365.
Not contemplated by the American
mind, 192.
Alien to American sentiment, thought,
and purpose, 192.
One of disasters predicted if Louisi-
ana Purchase was ratiiied, 266.
Impossible, 365.
Universal al)horrence for and unani-
mous opposition to, 365.
INDEX.
379
Imports, 303, 316, 362.
Present proportion of, to exports, 98.
Inaugural Address, March 4, '97, 2.
Country suffering from industrial dis-
turbances, 2.
Financial system needs revision, 2.
Money sliould be put on enduring
basis, 3.
Currency should continue under su-
pervision of government, 3.
Too many forms of paper money, 3.
Commission suggested to revise coin-
age, banking, and currency laws, 3.
Will endeavor to secure international
bimetallism, i.
Parity between gold and silver, 4.
Silver money must be kept at par, 4.
Economy demanded at all times, 4.
Revenue should exceed expenditui-es,
5.
Revenue should be sufficient to pro-
vide for pensioners, 5.
Surplus created by loans not safe reli-
ance, 5.
Loans imperative in emergencies, 6.
Credit of government must be pre-
served, 6.
Taxation best way to raise income, 6.
Taxation of imports settled policy of
government, 6.
Direct taxation avoided except in war,
6.
Country opposed to needless addi-
tions to internal taxation, 6.
Country committed to tariff taxation
by latest popular utterance, 6.
Controlling principle of tariff taxa-
tion, 6.
Protection controlling piinciple in
raising revenue, 6.
Protection people's will, 6.
Credit best secured through adequate
income, 6.
Voice of the people more potential
than any political platform, 7.
Protective legislation should be re-
stored, 7.
Reciprocity principle of law of 1890
should be reenacted and extended, 7.
Additional discretionary power in
making commercial treaties suggested,
7.
Agriculture and labor affected by de-
pression, 7.
Legislation helpful to producers is
beneficial to all, 8.
Restoration of prosperity will take
time, 8.
Congressional action needed to restore
prosperity, 8.
Ability of the people to meet emer-
gencies, 8.
Cause of freedom advanced by Ameri-
can national life, 8.
Equality of rights must prevail, 9.
Lynchings must not be tolerated, 9.
Purpose of the Republican party re-
garding trusts will be pursued, 10.
Natm'alization and immigration laws
should be further improved, 10.
Spread of free education should be
encouraged, 10.
Reforms in civil service must go on,
10.
Spirit of civil-service law will be car-
ried out, 10.
Congress should help restore merchant
marine, 11.
Foreign policy outlined, 11, 12.
Arbitration true method of settling
differences, 12.
Arbitration treaty with Great Britain
should be ratifitd, 13.
Extraordinary stsaion of Congress will
be convened March 15, '97, 14.
Independence, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99. 307.
Indiana, 256, 260, 208, 332.
Promptness of response to call for
volunteers, 141, 143.
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 144.
Indian Territory, 264.
Industry.
Application of art to, 23.
Supplemented by character, 23.
And character win in every contest, 2.3.
International Peace Conference, 138, 263.
Iowa, 86, 97, 99, 264, 301, 303. 306, 310.
High qualities of its national repre-
sentatives, 89.
Readiness to furnish troops, 97.
Contribution to Spanish War, 108.
Influence of, on the nation. 111.
Iowa Agricultural College, 93.
Iowa Falls, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 301.
Iowa State Normal School, 304.
Ipswich, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 313.
Italy, 78, 79.
o
Jackson, Andrew, 32.
Jackson, Thomas J., 104, 369.
Jackson, Michigan.
Speech at, Oct. 17, '99, 335.
Japan.
Imports of, from United States, 251.
Jay, John, 73.
Jefferson, Thomas, 73, 266, 311, 320, 35i.
Johnson, Andrew, 32.
Johnston, Joseph E., 369.
Joliet, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 7, '99, 239.
Jones, John Paul, 104.
Kankakee, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 130.
380
INDEX.
Kansas, 264, 266.
Kenosha, Wisconsin.
lleniarljs at, Oct. 17, '99, 328.
Kewanee, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 7, '99, 236.
King, Charles A., 324.
Kincr, Rev. Walter, 357.
King's Mountain, 32.
Knowledge.
Aspiration for, is corner-stone for
learning and liberty, 58.
No country, epoch, or race has a
monopoly upon, 168.
Kokomo, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 140.
Labor, 240, 256, 258, 272, 327, 332, 342,
345, 346, 350.
Effect of depression upon, 7.
Well employed, beneficial results of,
29.
Value of wages should he prote('ted,
63.
Now sought by employment, 85, 111,
118, 142, 236, 239, 256, 326.
When sought by employer, gets better
pay than when seeking employment,
142.
Interest in cause of, 248.
Good condition of, in United States,
, 249.
Universal demand for, 326.
Wages have advanced, 362.
Ladies' Memorial Association, Peoria,
Illinois, 230.
Lafayette, Marquis de, 181.
Lake Preston, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 290.
Lanrtis, Charles B., 142.
La Salle, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 7, '99, 237.
Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 253.
Lawton, Henry W., 180, 198, 305.
Lee, Richard Henry, 358.
Lee, Robert E., 39, 104, 230, 253, 353,
361, 364, 3C9, 370.
Legislation.
Helpful to producers is beneficial to
all, 8.
Lincoln, Abraham. 16, 17, 21, 127, 130,
178, 201, 232, 233-235, 238, 239, 277,
361.
Purpose to save the Union, 134, 294.
Followed the people, 124.
Name of, an inspiration to all lovers
of liberty, 126.
Emancipation Proclamation, 281.
Speech of, at Gettysburg, 361.
Lincoln and Douglas debates, 130, 233,
288, 23;\
Influence of, in molding public
opinion, 130.
Lind, John, 262.
Livingstone, David, 367.
Loans.
Surplus created by, not safe reliance, 5.
Imperative in emergencies, 6.
Locomotives.
Increase in exportation of, 240.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 196.
Logan, John A., 16, 37, 40, 104, 130, 194,
238, 248.
Logan, Iowa.
Remarks at, Oct. 11, '98, 99.
Logansport, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 139.
Long, John D., 196, 198.
Longstreet, James, 104, 369.
Louisiana, 264.
Louisiana Purchase, 213, 264, 266, 311.
Arguments of opponents of, 264-266.
Lovejoy, Owen, 238.
Loyal Legion, Washington, D. C.
Speech at banquet, 360.
Luzon, 246, 277, 280, 282, 283, 284, 289,
294, 318, 328, 331, 335, 338, 352.
Lynchings.
Must not be tolerated, 9.
M
MacArthur, Arthur, 324.
McCIellan, George B., 369.
McClernand, John A., 130.
McCumber, James P., 283.
Macomb, Illinois.
Remarks at, Oct. 6, '99, 227.
Macon, Georgia.
Speech at, Dec. 19, '98, 178.
McPherson, James B., 16, 40, 248.
Madison, James, 73, 354.
Madison, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 291.
Madison, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 317.
Mahoning valley, 342.
Malvern, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 108.
Manchester, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 308.
Manila, 82, 104, 107, 116, 117, 126, 149,
152, 153, 156, 162, 186, 189, 193, 198,
202, 214, 225, 246, 254, 279, 287, 295,
298 333 339 354.
Manila Bay, battle' of, 126, 139, 175, 189,
203, 215, 225, 226, 287, 290, 295, 315,
316, 339, 343.
Marcy, William L., 320.
Marines, 152.
Services of, at Guantanamo com-
mended, 107.
Marisca), Ignacio, 253.
Markets.
New, required, 61, 110.
New, good prospect for, 109.
Mar<iuette Club, Chicago, 241.
Loyalty and patriotism of, 241.
Marshal), John, 73, 354.
INDEX.
381
Marshalltown, Iowa.
Speecli at, Oct. 11, '9S, 91.
Maryland, 268.
Masons.
Reverence of, for name of Washing-
ton, 355.
Intt'rest of, in observance of anniver-
sary of his death, 355.
Massachusetts, 49, 267.
Illustrious past, 49.
Force and influence in the nation. 49.
The home and fountain of liberty, 196.
Stands for national credit and na-
tional honor, 197.
Fortunate in her educational institu-
tions, 205.
Mead, Elizabeth S., 205.
Meade, George G., 224.
Memorial and Library Building, Adams,
Massachusetts, 50.
Merchant marine, 62, 323.
Should be restored, 11.
Immediate development of, advisable,
252.
Merchants and Manufacturers' Associ-
ation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 323.
Merrimac, The, lir, 156.
Merritt, Darwin R., 110.
Merritt, Wesley, 127 156, 174.
Mexico, 244, 253.
Michigan, 336.
Michigan City, Indiana.
Remarks at, Oct. 17, '99, 382.
Miles, Nelson A., 81, 127.
Miley, John D., 254.
Milledgeville, Georgia.
Remarks at, Dec. 19, '98, 180.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Speech at Deutscher Club, Oct. 16, '99,
322.
Speech at banquet of Merchants and
Manufacturers' Association, Oct. 16,
'99, 323.
Remarks at the iron foundries, Oct. 17,
'99, 325.
Milwaiikee Public Library, 324.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 276.
Address at, Oct. 12, '99, 262.
Minnesota, 261, 204, 270, 276, 311.
Mississippi, 266.
Missouri, 264.
Missouri Valley, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 99.
Money, 2. 256, 350.
Should be put on enduring basis, 3.
Paper, too many forms, 3.
Gold and silver, parity between, 4.
Silver, must be kept at par, 4.
Duty of government to keep unques-
tioned and unassailable, 63.
Sound. 64.
Circulation July 1, '98, larger than ever
before, 121.
Now sufficient for business of govern-
ment, 127.
American, honor of, sustained, 127.
Now so abundant that foreign invest-
ments are sought, 198.
Debased, no longer any fear of, 199.
Abundant antl good, 314.
Monmouth, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 115,
Monroe, James, 354.
3Iontana, 264.
Montauk Point, New York, Camp Wi-
koff, 171.
Introductory remarks of Major-Gen-
eral Wheeler, U. S. V., 80.
Speech of the President, 81.
Montgomery, Alabama.
Speech to General Assembly and citi-
zens in State Capitol, Dec. 16, '93, 170.
Morris, Robert, 76.
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley,
Massachusetts, 205.
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 316.
Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Address at services commemorative
of death of George Washington, Dec.
14, '99, 355.
N
Nation, The.
Faith in future of, 66.
Principles upon which founded, 66.
Its gratitude to soldiers of Spanish
War, 80, 82, 88.
Institutions of, will be preserved, 90.
Characteristics of, make it equal to
every task, 106.
Has much to be thankful for, 109.
Fortunate in valor of soldiers and
sailors, 110.
Duty of, must be determined and car-
ried out, 115.
Future of, rests with the people, 129.
Will care for its disabled soldiers, 15S.
Strength of, rests in love and loyalty
of the people, 243, 255.
National Association of Manufacturers
of the United States.
Speech at banquet of. New York, Jan.
27, '98, 60.
National Board of Trade, reply to speech
of delegates from, Jan. 24, 1900, 359.
National defense fund, 103, 305.
Impression created by appropriation
of, 120.
Naturalization.
And immigration laws should be fur-
ther improved, 10.
Naval militia, 226.
Navy, 84, So, 96, 103, 116, 126, 135, 139,
144, 145, 148, 152, 154, 155, 160, 171,
179, 196, 203, 214, 215, 224, 226, 246,
318, 324, 333, 336, 350, 352.
Nebraska, 100, 264.
Negroes.
Bravery of, in Spanish War, 126, 127.
382
INDEX.
In Spanish War, vindicated their'title
to liberty, 127.
Rapid advance of, in civilization,
176.
Valor of, commended, 177.
Patriotism of, 241.
Nevada, 266.
Nevada Cavalry, U. S. V., 215.
Newark, Ohio.
Remarks at, Oct. 21, '98, 154.
New England.
Civilization of, penetrates every State
and Territory, 35.
Its homes established in every part
of the country, 49.
Its contributions to good citizenship,
49.
New England States, 268.
New Jersey, 268.
New London, Connecticut.
Remarks at, Feb. 16, '99, 184.
New Mexico, 266.
New York, N. Y.,202.
Address at dedication of Grant Monu-
ment, 16.
Speech at banquet of National Asso-
ciation of Manufacturers, Jan. 27, '98,
60.
Speech at banquet of Ohio Society of
New York, March 3, 1900, 361.
Address at Ecumenical Conference,
April 21, 1900, 366.
Nicaragua Canal, 62.
Nile, The, 351.
Niles, Michigan.
Remarks at, Oct. 17, '99, 334.
Niles, Ohio, 334.
Remarks at, Oct. 18, '99, 340,
Noblesville, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 143.
North, The, 253.
Should now share with South in care
of graves of Confederate soldiers,
159.
North Adams, Massachusetts.
Speech at Hoosac Valley Agricultural
Society Fair, Sept. 22, '97, 48.
North Carolina, 268.
North Dakota, 264, 311.
Admission of, mentioned, 279.
Rapid progress of, 282.
Northwestern University, 331.
Ocean Grove, New Jersey.
Speech at, Aug. 25, '99, 210.
Ocean Grove Association, 210.
Oglesby, Richard J., 130, 238.
Ohio, 42, 44, 153, 268, 339, 341, 362.
Its soldiers in Civil War, 43.
Promptness of response to call for
volunteers, 153.
Ohio Society of New York.
Speech at banquet of, 361.
Oklahoma, 264, 266.
Omaha, Nebraska, 86, 96, 100, 106.
Address at Trans-Mississippi Exposi-
tion, Oct. 12, '98, 100.
Remarks on leaving, Oct. 13, '98, 106.
Oregon, 268.
Oregon, The, 324.
Osceola, Iowa.
Remarks at, Oct. 13, '98, 112.
Otis, Elwell S., 156, 187, 198, 216, 284.
Ottawa, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 7. '99, 238.
Ottumwa, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 114. ^
Orford, Ohio.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 148.
Oxford College, Oxford, Ohio, 148.
Prominent men furnished to the pub-
lic service by, 148.
Palmer, John M., 130.
Parcels post, now arranged with Ger-
many, 251.
Paris, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 123.
Parkersburg, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 303.
Partizansliip.
Must be subordinated to faithful exe-
cution of national duty, IGl.
Can hold few of us against duty, 364.
Patriotism, 35, 50, 227, 229, 242, 246, 248,
256, 259, 261, 270, 271, 279, 285, 289,
298, 303, 310, 315, 321, 322, 324, 328,
333, 334, 335, 337, 344, 350, 364.
Great element in the strength of any
government, 53.
Never greater than now, 84.
Superior to party differences, 88, 97,
117, 141.
United and enthusiastic in Spanish
War, 102.
Must be continued, 110.
Of school-children, 119.
Universal throughout the country,
125, 139.
Must be faithful as well as fervent,
135.
Of citizens, bulwark of the nation,
172.
American, neither sectional nor sec-
tarian, 209.
The present is an era of, 226.
Is an all-conquering sentiment in
American heart, 290.
Triumphs over mere politics, 290.
Pauncefote, Sir Julian, 79.
Peace, 84, 80, 87, 347.
Need for unity in settlement of, 86,
94, 95, 90, 98, 100, 105, 109, 110, 112,
115, 117, 122, 125, 128, 139, 140, 164.
Terms of, must be in interest of hu-
manity, 87.
INDEX.
383
Should be humane, honorable, and
just, 92, 149.
Is first and indispensable requirement
in Philippines, 325.
Peace Commission, 179, 189.
Final determination of our purposes
awaits action of, and of Senate, 1.35.
Will settle extent of our responsibili-
ties, 135.
Pensioners.
Revenue should always be sufficient
to provide for, 5.
People.
A self-governed, will never permit
despotism in any government which
they foster and defend, 335.
People, Tlie, 6, 260, 270, 321, 322, 328,
329, 333, 336, 343, 360, 364.
Voice of, more potential than any
political platform, 7.
Ability of, to meet emergencies, 8, 93,
117, 156.
Destiny of the government in their
hands, 20.
Their welfare cherished above party
or State, 34.
Their duty in promotion of prosperity
outlined, 62.
Ability to meet financial burdens of
Civil War, 76.
Future of, depends upon themselves,
78.
Entitled to know treatment accorded
soldiers, 84.
Will be controlled by high purpose in
settlement of peace, 84, 87, 90, 129,
131, 136, 144, 146, 165.
Must act together in settlement of
peace, 94, 95, 96, 98, 100, 105, 109, 110,
112, 115, 117, 122, 125, 128, 139, 140,
164.
Never shirk a responsibility and
never unload a burden that carries
forward civilization, 87.
Should not shirk responsibilities of
Spanish War, 90, 140, 145, 153.
All power rests with, 91.
Recipients of profit on bonds of war
loan, 91.
Want humane, honorable, and just
peace, 92, 135.
High aim and puipose of, 99.
Opportunities for elevation of, secured
by wise free government, 101.
Patriotic in every crisis, 110.
Patriotism of, 112.
Sure to be right in their ultimate
judgment, 113.
Their duty to new peoples in conse-
quence of war, 116, 174.
Must pursue duty, 118, 125, 175.
Want the victories of army and navy
recognized in treaty of peace, 123.
Must settle Spanish War in interest
of humanity, 128.
Voice of, is mandate of Ifl-w, 129, 315.
The currents of destiny flow through
the hearts of, 131.
Virtue of, lies at foundation of repub-
lic, 137.
Would have the nation help the op-
pressed people brought by the war
within the sphere of their influence,
142.
Have much to be grateful for, 146.
Will of, is command to Congress and
to the Executive, 146.
United in conduct and settlement of
Spanish War, 150, 186, 306.
Brought together by the war, will be
kept together by its settlement, 165.
Action of, in settlement of present
problems must be controlled by duty,
174.
Majority of, always on side of right
and good government, 183.
Cannot avoid responsibility of na-
tional problems, ISO.
Future of PliUippines in their hands,
191.
Duty of, to see that Union endures,
204.
Always ready to take all the respon-
sibility which comes from a right-
eous war, 227.
Government l)y, has not been retarded,
but advanced, 245.
Characteristics of, 259.
Public aim of, high and noble, 274,
Government emanates from, 275.
Masterful in administration and legis-
lation, 277.
Judgment of, when constitutionally
rendered, is law of land, 277.
Have common interest and pride in
all that relates to the government, 286.
Never shirk duty, 288.
Chief glory of, is in triumphs of peace,
293.
Are for the flag wherever it floats, 296.
Can always be trusted, 298.
Purpose of, regarding Philippines, 303.
Interest of, in government, 307.
Detemiined to keep the American
name unsullied, 309.
Duty of, to stand by national honor
and protect new territory, 338.
Are doing business on business prin-
ciples, 350.
Peoria, Illinois.
Speech at unveiling of soldiers' monu-
ment, Oct. 6, '99, 230.
Remarks upon presentation of an al-
bum, Oct. 6, '99, 232.
Pepper, William, 22, 27, 28.
Philadelphia, 224, 351, 354.
Address at unveiling of Washington
Statue, May 15, '97, 19.
Remarks to American Medical Asso-
ciation, Jime 2, '97, 22.
384
INDEX,
Speech at banquet of Museums and
Manufacturers' Clnb, June 2, '97, 27.
Remarks at School of Industrial Art,
June 2, '97, 23.
Address at National Opening of Phila-
delphia Museums, June 2, '97, 23.
Hospitality of people, 28.
Type of American pluck and purpose,
30.
Address to officers and students of
University of Pennsylvania, 67.
Action of, in creating Philadelphia
Museums, 26.
Remarks at Union League banquet,
Oct. 26, '98, 154.
Speech at banquet of Clover Club,
Oct. 27, '98, 155.
Witnessed earliest consecration of
liberty to the republic, 155.
Remarks at dinner of Union League,
April 27, '99, 200.
Speech at Academy of Music, April 27,
'99, 201.
Remarks on board the U. S. S. Raleigh,
April 28, '99. 203.
Speech at G. A. R. encampment,
Sept. 5, '99, 222.
Speech at banquet of Meade, Lafay-
ette, and Kinsley Posts, G. A. R.,
Sept. 5, '99, 224.
Philadelphia Museums.
Address at National Opening, 23.
Aim of, 24.
Philadelphia Museums and Manufac-
turers' Club.
Speech at banquet of, 27.
Philippine Commission, 225.
Philippines, 174, 175, 186, 189, 210, 212,
227, 237, 242, 244, 246, 262, 268, 270,
276, 277, 278, 279, 284, 287, 290, 295,
303, 304, 305, 307, 309, 311, 312, 315,
317, 324, 325, 327, 328, 330, 331, 333,
336, 339, 342, 370.
Must not be turned back to Spain, 187.
Restoration of peace our first consid-
eration, 189.
Question of, rests with Congress, 190,
191.
Duty of Executive to hold until Con-
gress shall direct otherwise, 191.
No flaw in title to, 213.
No doubtful methods employed to
obtain, 213.
Roll of honor, 214, 215.
Future of, in keeinng of Congress, 269.
Prolialile nature of government, 269.
Authority of United States in, will be
upheld, 282.
Responsibility of, a result of battle of
Manila Bay, 287.
After ratification of treaty, territory
of the United States as much as any
other acquisition, 295.
Views of General Wheeler regarding,
296.
Purpose of the United States in re-
gard to, 306.
Sovereignty over, belongs to the peo-
ple, 307.
Insurrection in, 213, 256, 258, 293, 295,
318, 330, 335, 336, 338, 340, 345, 352.
First blow struck by insurgents, 216.
There will Vie no pause until insurrec-
tion is suppressed, 216.
Inception of insurrection, 281.
Pickering, Timothy, 195.
Pittsliurg, Pennsylvania.
Address in Carnegie Library, Nov. 3,
'97, 56.
Address before Tenth Pennsylvania
Regiment, U. S. V., Aug. 28, '99, 211.
Pittsfleld, Massachusetts.
Remarks at, Sept. 24, '97, 49.
Plvmouth Rock, 245.
Poland, Colonel, 152.
Polk, James K., 32.
Ponce, 163.
Population.
Increase of, 244.
Porter, David D., 17, 104, 155.
Porto Rico, 81, 104, 117, 153, 156, 186,
210, 212, 268, 287, 295, 306, 317, 319,
354, 370.
Powers, The.
Note of, April 6, '98, 78.
Reply to. 79.
President, The, 331.
Repetition of official oath, 15.
Aim of, 15, 56, 274.
Duty of, in regard to the Philippines,
191, 308.
Has no policy against will of people,
325.
Prcrctor, Red field, 36.
Proctor, Vermont.
Remarks at, Aug. 12, '97, 36.
Progress.
Necessary to prevent degeneration, 135.
New life and purpose required to pre-
vent weakness and decay, 135.
There must be broadening of thought
as well as broadening of trade, 135.
Constant movement required toward
a higher and nobler civilization, 135.
Prosperity, 33, 173, 182, 185, 198, 204,
208, 220, 227, 228, 229, 236, 238, 239,
248, 250, 256, 258, 261, 271, 272, 282,
286, 288, 291, 302, 308, 314, 316, 323,
326, 328, 332, 336, 340, 342, 344, 350,
359, 360, 362.
It will take time to restore, 8.
Action of Congress necessary to res-
toration, 8.
Adherence to principles of our gov-
ernment essential to, 9.
Commercial and iiulustrial develop-
ment of, a praiseworthy cause, 24.
All are interested in, irrespective of
party, 46, 47.
Revival of, 61.
INDEX.
385
Restored, 85, 08, 99, 101, 121.
Evidences of restoratiou, 99, 101, 111,
118, 141.
Protection.
Controlling principle in raising reve-
nue, 6.
People's will, 6.
Legislation should be restored, 7.
Protocol with Spain, 87, 186.
Public-school system.
Advantages of, 45.
a
Quincy, Josiah, 185.
Quincy, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 6, '99, 226.
Soldiers' Home, 226.
R
Racine, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 17, '99, 326.
Railroad employees.
Patriotism of, commended, 136.
Railways of United States.
Growth of, 251.
Raleigh, The.
Remarks on board of, 203.
Its part in the battle of Manila Bay,
203.
Reciprocity, 28, 62.
Principle of law of 1890 should be re-
enacted and extended, 7.
Of trade promotes reciprocity of
friendship, 54.
Status of contemplated treaties, 251.
Advantages of, shown by results of
treaty with France, 251.
Red Cross.
Ship bearing flag of, first to enter San-
tiago harbor after surrender, 107.
Redfield, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 286.
Red Oak, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '98, 109.
Red Wing, Minnesota.
Remarks at, Oct. 12, '99, 261.
Responsibilities.
International, cannot be shirked, 102.
International, must be met with cour-
age and wisdom, 102.
Revenue, 350.
Should exceed expenditures, 5.
Should be sufficient to provide for
pensioners, 5.
Daily amount of, 257, 292, 345.
Now abundant, 302.
Revolutionary War, 259, 287, 352.
Not undertaken originally for inde-
pendence, 134.
Richmond, Virginia.
Remarks at station, Oct. 31, '99, 349.
Speech at, Oct. 31, '99, 349.
Contributions of, to navy, 350.
RoUer, 0. B., 204.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 198.
Root, Elihu, 225.
Rosecrans, William S., 43.
Rough Paders, 89.
Rushville, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 146.
Russia, 78, 79, 351.
Czar of, 138, 263.
St. Louis, Missouri.
Speech at Merchants' Exchange, Oct.
14, '98, 117.
Speech in Coliseum, Oct. 14, '98, 119.
St. Paul, Minnesota.
Speech at Auditorium, Oct. 12, '99, 269.
St. Thomas, Island of, 268.
Sampson, W. T., 107, 127, 225.
San Juan hiU, 80, 107, 116, 127, 149, 152,
178, 246.
Santiago, 80, 104, 107, 116, 126, 131, 152,
156, 162, l(i3, 171, 186, 202, 206, 219, 221,
246, 2.-4, 295, 315, 317, 350, 354.
Savannah, Georgia.
Speech at Board of Trade banquet,
De Soto Hotel, Dec. 17, '98, 172.
Speech at Georgia Agricultural and
Mechanical College, Dec. 18, '98, 176.
School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia.
Remarks at, 23.
School-children, 45, 228, 231, 272, 278,
308, 321, 332, 341.
Must succeed to responsibilities of
government, 113, 120.
Patriotism of, 119.
Schurman, J. G., 225.
Second Massachusetts Regiment, U.S. V.,
206.
Second Oregon Regiment, U. S. V., 215.
Sectional lines.
Obliterated, 15, 33, 39, 43, 50, 51, 85,
88, 95, 98, 103, 108, 117, 118, 121, 123,
125, 140, 141, 143, 160, 165, 171, 173,
179, 180, 182, 1S3, 197, 203, 204, 223,
229, 24(i, 253, 255, 299, 304, 305, 310,
313, 348, 349, 353, 361, 364.
Transcended by fraternal national
spiiit, 18.
No longer mar the map of the United
States, 158.
Senate, The, 72, 195, 346.
Action of, following action of Peace
Commission, will determine our pur-
poses, 135.
Seventeenth Regiment United States
Infantry, 152.
Sevier, John, 32.
Seward, William H., 320.
Shatter, William R., 107, 116, 127, 179.
Shaw, L. M., 86.
His reply to call for troops, 97.
Sheridan, P. H ., 16, 40, 104, 155, 194,
224, 369.
386
INDEX.
Sherman, Roger, 73.
Sherman, W. T., 16, 40, 104, 155, 194,
224, 248, 369.
Shiloh, 202.
Ship-building, increase of, 252.
Shubrick, The.
Launching of, 349.
Silver money.
Parity between gold and, 4.
Must be kept at par, 4.
Sioux City, Iowa.
Remarks at Whitfield Methodist Epis-
copal Sunday-school, Oct. 15, '99, 301.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 294.
Slavery, 239, 294.
End of, unforeseen, 41.
Smith College, 205.
Society of the Cincinnati.
Address at unveiling of Washington
Statue by, 19.
Somerset, Pennsylvania.
Remarks to Lincoln Club, Sept. 9, '97,
47.
Remarks at reception of R. P. Cum-
mins Post, G. A. R., Sept. 10, '97, 48.
South, The, 253.
Loyalty of, to the Union and the flag,
shown by Spanish War, 159.
Prosperity of, 351.
South Carolina, 268.
South Dakota, 264, 284, 288, 298, 311.
South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Speech at Mount Holyoke College,
June 20, '99, 205.
Spain, 78, 79, 83, 187, 188, 213, 216, 259,
295.
Treaty of peace with, 179, 190, 197,
268, 280, 284, 295, 307, 318, 330, 339,
346, 364.
Spanish War, 89, 96, 102, 110, 114, 116,
120, 125, 130, 160, 171, 173, 179, 182,
185, 190, 194, 199, 202, 215, 218, 221,
228, 229, 242, 246, 248, 254, 276, 289,
295, 303, 305, 310, 316, 318, 324, 335,
339, 343, 345, 352, 363.
Soldiers of, gratitude of nation to, 80,
81, 88.
Soldiers of, commendation of, 81, 82.
Conduct of, 83, 84.
Display of humanity, 89, 107, 108.
Conclusion of, should be triumph for
humanity, 90, 145.
Outcome of, 90, 149.
Veterans of, 92, 155, 194, 226, 257, 272,
283, 285.
Enlistment of students, 93.
Duty imposed by, 100, 133.
Matchless in its results, 103.
Not sought by the United States, 105,
128, 135, 151.
Heroism displayed in, 107.
Country united in conduct of, 108,
150.
Brilliant in victory, 129.
War 01 humanity, 131, 134, 140, 145,
147, 151, 165, 295, 315, 319.
Results of, not foreseen, 133.
Obligations of victory cannot be es-
caped, 133, 145.
Briefness and success of, cause for
thankfulness, 146.
Terms extended to the vanquished,
147.
Eulogy of dead heroes, 152.
Short but decisive, 165.
Promptness of enlistment for, has few
parallels, 279.
Every effort made to avert it, 287.
Those who sought it most are now
trying to shirk its responsibilities, 186,
319.
Results of, are nation's problem, 363.
Loan, 314.
Loan, over-subscription of, HI, 120,
292.
Springfield, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 126.
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Speech at, June 21, '99, 206.
Stanard, E. O., 359.
Stanton, Edwin M., 16.
Staples, Minnesota.
Remarks at, Oct. 13, '99, 276.
Statesmanship.
Must be wise as well as fearless, 135.
Should be far-sighted, 135.
Strong, Rev. Nathan, 357.
Summers, Owen, 262.
Sumner, Charles, 195.
Sumter, Fort, 234.
Superior, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 13, "99, 271.
Surplus, 120, 129, 292, 345, 362.
Created by loans, not safe reliance, 5.
Syracuse, New York.
Speech at, Aug. 24, '97, 36.
T
Tama, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '98, 90.
Tanner, John R., 126.
Tariff, 29, 258, 345.
Discussion of, has ceased, 198.
(See Taxation.)
Taxation, 345.
To raise income, best way, 6.
Of imports, settled policy of govern-
ment, 6.
Direct, avoided except in war, 6.
Internal, country opposed to needless
additions, 6.
Taiiff, country committed to by lat-
est popular utterance, 6.
Tariff, controlling principle of, 6.
Spanish War, borne with patriotism,
121, 127.
Tayler, R. W., 219.
Taylor, John N., 218.
INDEX.
387
Taylor, Richard M., 349.
Tennessee, 30.
Characteristics of, 31, 32.
Origin of, 31, 32.
Progress of, 33.
" Mother of Southwestern statesmen,"
32.
Tennessee Centennial Exposition, Nash-
ville.
Address at, June 11, '97, 30.
Tenth Pennsylvania Regiment, U. S. V.,
211, 215.
Terre Haute, Indiana, 139.
Speech at, Oct. 15, '98, 122.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '99, 256.
Territory.
Acquisition of, 114.
Of United States. (See United States.)
Increase of, 244, 2G4.
President hasuo power to alienate,319.
Texas, 213.
Cessi<in of, 266.
Texas, The, 350.
Thirteenth Minnesota Regiment,U.S.V.,
215, 261, 202, 270, 276, 277.
Thomas, George H., 16, 40.
Thompson, Richard W., 122, 257.
Thi'ee Oaks, Michigan.
Remarks at, Oct. 17, '99, 333.
Tin-plate, 240, 258.
Now a successful industry in the
United States, 142.
Has given employment to many work-
ing-men, 142.
Tipton, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 21, '98, 141.
Trade.
Follows the flag, 109.
Trans-Mississippi Exposition, 86, 101,
107.
Treasury, The, 258, 292, 315, 336, 345,
362.
Creation of, 76.
Its condition after half a century, 76.
Balance Oct. 1, '98, 120.
Treaties.
Commercial, additional discretionary
power in making, suggested, 7.
Trumbull, Jonathan, 73.
Trusts, 10.
Purpose of the Republican party re-
garding, will be pui'sued, 10.
Tiiskesree, Alabama.
Speech at, Dec. 16, '98, 166.
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Insti-
tute.
Ideal in conception, 166.
Policy of, generous and progressive,
167.
Practical nature of, 168.
Of inestimable value in sowing seeds
of good citizenship, 168.
Advice to students, 169, 170.
Twentieth Kansas Regiment, U. S. V.,
215.
Twenty-third Ohio Regiment.
Speech at reunion, Fremont, Ohio,
Sept. 2, '97, 42.
Tyler, J. Hoge, 348.
Union, The, 38, 41, 51, 66, 126, 245, 253,
294, 305, 346, 354, 360.
Stronger and better than ever before,
50.
And people inseparable under our
system, 53.
Complete restoration of, most gi-atify-
ing development of Spanish War, 88.
Once more the common altar of love
and loyalty, devotion and sacrifice,
158.
Union League, Philadelphia, 200.
United States, 63, 69, 71, 72, 346.
Normal condition of, peace, 102.
Seal of, its meaning, 243.
Has never repudiated a national ob-
ligation, 245.
Has never struck a blow except for
civilization, 245.
Has never struck its colors, 245.
Progress of, 308.
Never raised its arm against human-
ity; never struck a blow against lib-
erty, 309.
Territory of, 114, 115, 134, 151, 153, 162,
174, 181, 188, 214, 237, 244, 264-269, 287,
295, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 311, 318,
320, 321, 330, 333, 336, 339, 343, 346, 366.
University of Pennsylvania.
Address to olHcers and students, Feb.
22. '98, 67.
Its association with name of Wash-
ington, 67, 68.
University of Wisconsin, 320.
Utah, 266.
Utah Artillery, U. S. V., 215.
Vermilion, South Dakota.
Remarks at, Oct. 14, '99, 300.
Vermont, 35.
Vermont Fish and Game League, Isle
La Motte.
Speech at, Aug. 6, '97, 35.
Vicksburg, 202.
Vincennes, Indiana.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '99, 255.
Vinci, Count, 79.
Virginia, 265, 268, 348, 351.
Volunteer Signal Corps, First, Eigh-
teenth, and Nineteenth companies,
215.
Voorhees, Daniel W., 123.
W
Wadena, Minnesota.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '09, 277.
388
INDEX.
Wahpeton, North Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 13, '99, 282.
War Department.
Commission appointed to investigate
administration of, remarks to, 83.
Charges against, 83, 84.
Warner, Vespasian, 128.
Warren, Ohio.
Speech at, Oct. 18, '99, 338.
Washinijton, Booker T., 166.
Washiuiton, George, 17, 19-21, 37, 67-78,
104, 181, 352, 361.
Present value of portions of Farewell
Address, 73.
" Cherish the public credit," 76.
Ideas of, regarding foreign policy, 77.
Address at services commemorative
of death of, 355.
Washington, D. C.
Inaugural Address, 2.
Note of Powers and reply, 78-80.
Remarks to commission appointed to
investigate administration of War De-
partment, Sept. 26, '98, 83.
Remarks to First District of Columbia
Regiment, at Convention Hall, Nov.
17, '98, 157.
Response to committee presenting
petition urging mediation in Boer
War, Oct. 26, '99, 347.
Site of, selected by Washington, 356.
Reply to delegates from National
Board of Trade, Jan. 24, 1900, 359.
Speech at banquet of Loyal Legion,
Feb. 22, 1900, 360.
Washington, State of, 268.
Washington Conrt-House, Ohio.
Remarks at, Oct. 21, "98, 150.
Washington Statue. Philadelphia.
Address at unveiling, 19.
Waterloo, Iowa.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 305.
Watseka, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 11, '99, 260.
Waukegan, Illinois.
Speech at, Oct. 17, '99, 329.
Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Speech at, Oct. 16, '99, 321.
Webster, Daniel, 181, 195.
West, The, 266.
Despair no longer hangs over, 107.
Now having fair share of prosperity,
107.
Patriotism of, 107.
Vastness and wealth of, 110.
Evidences of prosperity of, 110.
Western Reserve, 339.
West Indies, 315, 324.
Wheeler, Miss, 171.
Wheeler, Joseph, 95, 171, 178, 180, 181,
297, 305.
Introductory remarks at Montauk
Point, 81.
Views of, regarding Philippines, 296.
Whitfield Methodist Episcopal Sunday-
school, Sioux City, Iowa, 301.
Wight, John B., 157.
Wilmington, Ohio.
Remarks at, Oct. 21, '98, 150.
Wilson, Henry, 195.
Wilson, James, 90, 225.
Wilson, James H., 180.
Winthrop, Robert C, 195.
Wisconsin, 324.
Wollant, Gr. de, 79.
Women.
Nobility displayed in time of war, 88.
Government's debt of gratitude to, 88.
Wood, Leonard, 198.
" Don't swear ; fight," 90.
World's Columbian Exposition, 25.
Wright, R. R., 176.
Wyoming, 264, 266.
Wyoming Battery, U. S. V., 215.
Yankton, South Dakota.
Speech at, Oct. 14, '99, 298.
Yorktown, surrender of CornwaUis at,
352.
Youngstown, Ohio.
Speech at, Oct. 18, '99, 341.
Speech at public reception, Oct. 18,
'99, 344.
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